Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Re-write
by waters22
Summary: So this is basically the storyline of GTA San Andreas where Ryder stays loyal to the gang. I'm gonna be honest, while I enjoy San Andreas as a whole, the way Ryder was written was pretty much my biggest gripe of the storyline. So I decided to re-write the storyline in which Ryder's character gets expanded and has a much more notable role.
1. Chapter 1: The Green Sabre

After he and his friends had almost gotten killed during that cop chase last night, CJ woke up wondering what happen next. His brother had been killed five years ago, he left his gang battling their old rivals, his mother had just been killed, and he then discovers that long time members Little Devil, Big Devil, and Tony (who was named T-Murder) were killed just a year ago. It seemed to CJ that the 90s were not so kind to him so far. it was only the early decade and already, the decade seemed like the worst in his life. He liked the 80s much better.

Without any more thoughts of premonition, CJ got dressed and headed out the door. He headed to Sweet's house and knocked on the front door. After six seconds of waiting, the door swung open.

"Break yo'self, nigga!" Ryder shouted popping out suddenly with a 9mm pointed at CJ.

"Damn, Ryder!" CJ shouted in a panicking voice. "It's me! Put that shit away before you hurt someone!"

Ryder chuckled a little bit. "Naw, I'm just fucking witcha, homie," he snickered. "I gotta be honest witcha, CJ. I really thought you were gonna shit yo'self! It would've been fucked up if you did"

"Man, fuck you, Ryder," CJ replied. "You could've seriously killed me wit that bullshit."

"Man quit bein' a busta and come on in," Ryder shot back.

* * *

He and CJ walked through the hallway.

"Ay where Smoke at?" CJ asked.

Ryder just shrugged. "I tried calling him," he said, "but he ain't answering his phone. Must be dead from a heart attack from eating all that nasty ass fried chicken at Cluckin' Bell"

"Well let's hope that wasn't his breakfast," CJ replied.

The two laughed. They finally made their way into the living room, where they found Sweet and the rest of the Grove Street gang members having a meeting.

"So this is it - this is when we show the Ballas what bangin' is all about," Sweet told his gang vociferously. "Grove Street is king! Say it with me niggaz, Grove Street is KING! Yeah! HOMIES GROVE STREET IS KING!"

"Yo Sweet!" Ryder called. "Look who came to join the crew?"

"Whassup, CJ?" Sweet greeted his brother as he gave him a handshake. "Where you been?"

"Hey, sorry bro," CJ replied. "I got caught up."

"What's this?" Ryder asked sarcastically. "CJ finally plannin' ahead? Now I'm very impressed." CJ just ignored Ryder's sarcastic remark.

"Yeah, you probably was hittin' one o' them Ballas rats," Sweet said. "Yeah I know what you was up to, nigga!" He turned to the four members of the gang.

"Listen up," Sweet told them, "y'all down with CJ, right?" The gang agreed rapidly.

"He's been through a lot, I mean we all been through a lot," Sweet explained. "But CJ's helping us clean up the 'hood. He's taken the fight to the enemy."

"Yeah," CJ added.

"Showing all of us how we used to bang, what it used to mean to be a Grove Street Family," Sweet shouted. "CJ, you're my brother, my runnin' dog. I should have never doubted you."

"It's nothing," CJ said modestly.

"But you're home now, partner - home," Sweet added.

"For sure," CJ replied.

"Jeah," Ryder chimed in sarcastically. "Sweet's right CJ. We should all bow down before you as our king of the street and worship every step you take." He then bowed mockingly.

"Seriously, Ryder," Sweet said sounding slightly annoyed. "The least you can do is show my bro some love."

"I got love for CJ, Sweet," Ryder said. "But I'm still not impressed. If he wants the respect he desperately wants, he gotta show me more."

"Come on, Ryder," CJ complained. "I told you, I'm back for life and here to make up the shit I fucked up the past five years, especially what happened last year."

"Listen up!" Sweet announced. "I want all y'all to go get heated, and meet me Downtown under the Mulholland Intersection. We're gonna roll on these Balla mother-fuckers!"

"A'ight, a'ight!" one of the members said.

"Gyeah!" Ryder added as he pulled out his tech 9. "Let's blow these motherfuckers' mind if you know what I mean."

"I'll see y'all in traffic," Sweet said as the gang began to leave through the front door". "Yeah, let's roll!" another gang member agreed.

* * *

Everyone left, except CJ, Sweet, and Ryder. "You in?" Sweet asked CJ.

"Hell yeah, I'm in," CJ answered. "I'm your running dog, Sweet."

"Yeah, he the running dog alright," Ryder chimed in.

"Come on, Ryder," Sweet told the stoned midget. "Give CJ a break for once. We got enough trouble with them Ballas trying to steal our turf."

"A'ight, Sweet," Ryder said. "My bad, homie. I'ma head out." Ryder walked away and suddenly stopped. He turned to CJ.

"Hey CJ," he said sounding slightly abrasive. "Don't fuck this up for us." He then walked away and disappeared through the hallway.

CJ then turned to Sweet. "Anyway, I'm down," he told his brother.

"Yeah, my nigga," Sweet said giving his brother a high five. "Alright, you go get heated up, and I'll meet you at the crossroads."

Sweet then walked out the door and he and Ryder hopped in his car and drove off. The other members of the gang drove away in their cars as well. As soon as he walked out, however, he heard his cell phone ringing.

"I wonder who this?" CJ asked himself. He pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and answered it. "Hey," CJ answered.

"Hey CJ, it's Cesar, man," Cesar said through the phone.

"I'm kinda busy now," CJ told him. "Somethin' big goin' down."

"Ese, I gotta see you holmes," Cesar replied, "to tell you something."

"Look, if it's about Kendl, don't worry," CJ told him. "We cool, a'ight?"

"No, CJ, you gotta come and see something - something important, eh?"

"Well it's gon' have to wait," CJ said.

"This can't wait holmes," Cesar told him desperately. "If I tell you, you won't believe it, ese. I swear."

CJ sighed. What Cesar had to tell him must have been really important for him to see. "Okay," CJ said. "I got about five, so it better be good. Where you at?"

"I'm under the freeway," Cesar told him, "north side of Verdant Bluff." "Verdant Bluff?" CJ asked himself. "This really must be important."

* * *

Verdant Bluff was the place where the Ballas co-leader Tuckah resided at. Sweet had told CJ earlier that he and Tuckah got into a gun battle a year prior and right after Sweet finally killed Tuckah that year, the Ballas were after the Grove Street members, which ended in Ryder's younger brother Tony, nicknamed T-Murder, getting killed. So CJ had a bad feeling about this.

He hopped into the car and drove to Verdant Bluffs under the freeway, where he found Cesar sitting in his car. CJ opened the passenger door and hopped in to see Cesar.

"So you dragged me across the town to see what?" CJ asked.

"Just in time, ese," Cesar told him. He pointed across the street to the garage, where Tuckah's hang-out was. "Take a good hard look over there."

Just then, some Ballas members exited the hideout.

"So?" CJ said. "Some Ballas hanging around the dope what?"

"Just watch, holmes," Cesar told him quietly.

That's when CJ found another Grove Street member and his old friend Big Smoke coming out and became shocked.

"What the fuck?" he asked in confusion. "Oh naw! Smoke, what you into?"

Cesar shushed CJ. "Ese, look at that ride," he told CJ as Smoke pushed open the garage, revealing the green sabre, the one Ryder said was the one that drove through Grove Street's turf, the one that the Ballas drove and did a drive-by, which killed CJ's mom.

"That's the motherfucking green sabre!" CJ exclaimed. CJ was even more shocked when he found that Smoke was working with Officer Tenpenny.

"Shit, Smoke!" CJ shouted. "C.R.A.S.H. making you sell us out?! Moms!"

It was now clear to CJ. Big Smoke has betrayed him. His closest friend from childhood, who was like a father figure to him, has turned his back on him and the gang, all for a quick buck. And the worst part of it was that Big Smoke was involved in CJ's mom's murder. CJ was just so shocked that his best friend would ever sell his family out like that.

"Sorry, ese," Cesar apologized regretfully. "I heard a rumor and poked around. I didn't believe myself, but..."

"No no," CJ told him. "You did the right thing. I owe you, Ces. I gotta go tell Sweet...oh fuck! Sweet!"

CJ was so upset about Big Smoke's betrayal to the gang that he forgot that he was supposed to meet Sweet under the freeway at the Muholland Intersection.

"Look," CJ told Cesar, "go get Kendl and take her to a safe place!" CJ had lost his mother and brother, and he wasn't going to lose another family member at this rate.

"What you thinking?" Cesar asked.

"It's Sweet," CJ answered. "I think him and the homies is walkin' into a trap! Just go! GO!"

* * *

Cesar complied and exited the car. He ran to his neighborhood as CJ drove quickly to the Muholland Intersection. He picked up his cell phone hoping that Sweet would take his call. "I gotta warn Sweet!" CJ told himself. He waited as the phone continued ringing.

"Dammit, Sweet!" CJ yelled. "Pick up! Pick up!"

Unfortunately, the phone went straight to the voice message.

"Hey whassup?" Sweet's voice message answered. "You called me, but I ain't pickin' up! So leave a message after the..."

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" CJ chanted in frustration. He slammed the phone to the floor. Things were going from bad to worse. CJ lost his mother, Ballas and Vagos have taken over, Big Smoke betrayed him, and Sweet and the rest of the gang were walking into a trap. Without much time left, CJ drove as quickly as he could until he finally made it under the freeway at the Muholland Intersection, where the Grove Street Families were battling the Ballas. CJ parked the car and exited out only to find Ryder approaching him.

"CJ!" Ryder shouted at him. "Where the fuck you been at, motherfucker? Don't you know we've been busting our asses over here?"

CJ was not in the mood to deal with Ryder's bluntness at this time.

"Ryder, I have to tell you something!" he told his friend.

"Never mind that, motherfucker!" Ryder cut him off. "Where the fuck is Smoke?!"

"That's what I came to tell you about, Ryder!" CJ replied. "You see, my man Cesar showed me..."

"Cesar?" Ryder asked. "Ah, so you were hanging out with those eses while we were busting our asses blastin' them Balla Dope pushers! I knew you was a busta!"

"Listen!" CJ told him. "Cesar asked me to meet him by Verdant Bluffs and he showed me Big Smoke..."

"Smoke?" Ryder interrupted. "You saw Smoke over there and didn't say shit to him?!"

"Listen, Ryder!" CJ yelled getting annoyed of Ryder cutting him off. "Cesar showed me Big Smoke working with C.R.A.S.H. Smoke sold us out."

"What?!" Ryder asked in confusion even though it was hard for CJ to tell what Ryder's expression was behind his sunglasses. "Why the fuck would Smoke sell us out like that?!"

"I don't know," CJ shrugged, "but I gotta tell Sweet. Where he at?"

"Well wouldn't you like to know," Ryder told him sourly as he moved to the side to reveal Sweet kneeling to the ground with deep wounds.

* * *

"Oh fuck!" CJ shouted. "Sweet! I came too late!"

"Yep," Ryder said. "Sweet now fucked up from all that lead, and it's all your fault!"

CJ didn't have time to argue with Ryder. He kneeled beside his wounded brother.

"CJ... Where you been?" Sweet asked through his wounds.

"Cesar called," CJ told him, "showed me some shit. It's Smoke, and he in deep with Tenpenny and some Ballas! He sold us out!"

"It doesn't matter, man," Sweet muttered.

"Doesn't matter?" Ryder chimed in as he approached the brothers. "Sweet, that fat motherfucker turned his back on all of us, our closest homie, and it don't matter to you?"

"Listen, you guys gotta get out of here," Sweet announced. "The cops gonna arrive any second."

"Get outta here?" Ryder asked. "Whatchu think I look like, a busta like CJ?"

"Hey!" CJ said. He turned to Sweet. "Nah man," CJ told him. "I ain't runnin' out on my brother!"

"Well then get the fuck up off yo' knees and ice these Balla pushers then, motherfucker!" Ryder told him.

So CJ got back on his feet and faced the Ballas. "Yo', Ballas!" CJ bellowed. "I'm taking you mother-fuckers, you hear me? I'M TAKING YOU ALL DOWN!"

* * *

So CJ and Ryder, as well as the other members of the gang, crouched behind the cars and shot at the Ballas. They ended up killing three members all at once. Just then another Ballas' car drove up.

"Damn!" CJ said. "They got backup!"

"I got somethin' for they asses," Ryder stated as he began to climb the roof of one of the cars.

"Ryder, what the fuck you doin'?" CJ asked. "You out yo' mind, nigga? Them Ballas gonna shoot you!"

"Naw," Ryder told him. "Them Balla Dope pushas don't wanna see me."

He then stood on top of the roof of the car.

"Hey Ballas!" the light-skinned gangster shouted at them as the Ballas exited their car. "I'ma show y'all motherfuckers who's the true OG here in Los Santos!"

He yelled at the top of his lungs, pointed his two tech 9's at them, and pulled the trigger. CJ joined in and killed the Ballas as well. Despite that, however, Ryder continued to shoot. By the time a third Ballas car arrived, Ryder and CJ were already shooting at them, and before the Ballas had a chance to get out, the car exploded, and the Ballas were killed. Ryder finally lowered his weapons and stopped to catch his breath.

He hopped off of the roof of the car just in time for the last Ballas car to arrive. Ryder and CJ looked at each other.

"Let's finishes these motherfuckers," Ryder told CJ. "Yeah, "CJ agreed, "let's ice these punks, Grove Street style."

"Jeah," Ryder replied as he and CJ gave each other their handshake.

As the Ballas exited their vehicle, CJ, Ryder, and the rest of the Grove Street Family gangsters finally got into a gun war with the Ballas. CJ rolled behind the pillar and killed two Ballas at a time. He then ducked behind the trash cans and killed three more Ballas. After several seconds, the Ballas were all dead, and the police cars arrived just in time.

"Ah fuck!" Ryder shouted in frustration. "One-time at 12:00!"

"Just when we thought shit couldn't get any worse!" CJ added. He and Ryder had no choice but to hold their hands up in the air as the police cars surrounded them.


	2. Chapter 2: The Badlands

When CJ woke up, he discovered that his face was covered up with something, for he saw nothing but black.

"You got a bag over your head, boy," he heard Tenpenny say. "How you feel about that?"

"Man, take it off!" CJ pleaded. "Please, man, I can't breathe! Please!"

 **"** Oh, alright," Tenpenny replied, "but only because you said please."

Tenpenny took the bag off CJ's head and the latter realized that he was sitting in the back of the police car.

 **"** You fucking sick mother-fucker!" CJ told the corrupt police officer.

 **"** Intimidate those who intimidate others, Carl," Tenpenny replied dryly. "It's my job. Right, Ed?"

Pulaski just chuckled. CJ look around the car, where he found Ryder sitting adjacent to him.

"Asshole!" Ryder said to Tenpenny under his breath.

CJ then looked through the window, where he saw a lot of trees and grass. There was also the mountain and a few buildings. None of anything around the area looked familiar to him.

"Hey, man, where we at?" CJ asked.

"The middle-of-fucking-nowhere," Tenpenny replied. "Nice, clean air, as opposed to your stoned-out-of-his-brains friend sitting next to you."

"Fuck you, piece of shit eggheaded ass motherfucker!" Ryder shot back.

"Fucking Smoke!" CJ muttered under his breath. That's when he remembered Sweet. "Oh, Sweet!" he shouted. He was wondering if his brother was okay. The wounds he had sustained during the shootout were pretty severe, and CJ was worried that his brother was actually going to bleed to death.

"Sweet is alive," Tenpenny told CJ. "Alive and inside. He's in a prison hospital being treated for gunshot wounds, awaiting trial."

"Yeah, somehow, nobody's caught you two dirtbags yet," Pulaski chimed in.

Tenpenny turned around to face CJ. "Oh yeah, you should be glad, Carl," Tenpenny told him. "Your moron brother's alive, your stoned-off-his-ass homie sitting right next to you is alive, although still fucked up on that wet, your street trash, soon to be turned out sister's alive, and, she's only sucking one grease-ball's dick. Things are going pretty well for you, Carl. So behave, nigga." He then turned to Ryder. "You too, Lance!" Tenpenny told Ryder. "You certainly don't want to get yourself into any deep shit after what you, Sweet, and the rest of your punk ass homeboys did to our crew last year!"

"Fuck you!" Ryder shouted at the corrupted cop. "If my wrists weren't constricted by these cuffs, I'll blow your bald, ostrich-egghead off!"

"Hey Ryder, man, relax," CJ whispered to his friend, "befo' you get us both capped."

Ryder just didn't say anything else. He just slammed his head angrily against the back seat.

"We want you to do a little favor for us, boys," Pulaski said as he and Tenpenny hopped out the car.

* * *

Tenpenny grabbed Ryder while Pulaski grabbed CJ. Each of them unlocked the handcuffs off of each of their wrists after pulling them out of the car.

"I can't believe that nigga Smoke turned on me," CJ muttered as Pulaski removed the cuffs off his wrists.

 **"** Smoke?" Pulaski asked. "Smoke does exactly what he's told. He learned that lesson a long time ago!"

 **"** Homies for life? Street loyalty?" Tenpenny chimed in. "That's all bullshit, Carl. Didn't you learn that when they ran you out of town, just 'cause you let Brian die? Huh?" Then he turned to Ryder. "And what about you, Lance?" he asked the 5'3" tall gangster. "Didn't you learn a goddamn thing after your dumb ass brother was shot by the Ballas and the Ballas and Vagos smoked practically everyone in your gang? Huh?! Eddie, I can't deal with these two. They're both idiots!"

 **"** Let me air these fuckers out!" Pulaski replied as he grabbed his pistol, "starting with this slim one over here."

He turned to CJ and began pointing the pistol to his temple.

"No no no no no no no, Officer," Tenpenny told his partner in crime as he gently pulled him away. "For once, let's let the kid and his dumb ass partner here do something good with their useless lives. They're gonna help us with the fight against crime. Right, boys?"

 **"** Yeah," Pulaski replied putting aside his pistol. "By any means necessary."

Tenpenny then turned to CJ. **"** Now you stay the fuck away from Smoke, and stay the fuck away from us," he warned. "Otherwise Sweet is going to find himself on a Ballas block getting in touch with his feminine side."

CJ somehow knew exactly what Tenpenny was implying. One wrong move, and Sweet would eventually find himself dropping the soap.

* * *

Tenpenny then turned to Hernandez, who was urinating by a tree. "Hey Hernandez, you going to piss all day?" Tenpenny asked his partner, who zipped his pants up after finishing.

"Get your hands off me, man!" CJ snapped at Pulaski who had grabbed his wrists.

 **"** For some reason," Pulaski told CJ, "we've got a little problem with a former friend of ours. He seems to disagree with some of our methods."

"Now who could do that?" CJ asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, you'll never find anybody as fork-tongued as this snake ass bastard," Tenpenny added. "Soon as he gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he'll whistle any tune Internal Affairs want him to."

"See," Pulaski started to explain, "They've got him hiding up Mount Chilad someplace, so they can manipulate his testimony any way they want to."

 **"** I want you to pay him a little visit, Carl," Tenpenny told him, "and destroy all his evidence before he testifies." He then turned to Ryder, who was leaning against the tree. "You getting this, Lance, you stoned-ass motherfucker?!" he asked sharply.

"I got ears, motherfucker!" Ryder shot back. "I can hear every fucking word you're saying! So get the fuck off my back!"

 **"** Sort this out, Carl," Pulaski told CJ, "so Officer Tenpenny can sleep easy at night. We want evidence he ain't gonna talk."

"Yeah," Tenpenny added as he and Pulaski walked to their car. "We want you boys to finish the job for us."

As Tenpenny and Pulaski entered their vehicle and sped off, CJ just stared back in confusion. Suddenly, he heard loud banging and clattering. He turned around to see Ryder throwing a temper tantrum, kicking trash cans, tossing stones at windows, and punching on the door.

CJ walked over to his friend to try to calm him down. "Yo, calm yo' ass down, Ryder!" CJ told him as he grabbed Ryder by the arm.

"Get yo' hands off me, motherfucker!" Ryder snapped snatching his arm off CJ's reach. "It's yo' fault we out here!" he added pointing an accusing finger at CJ.

"My fault?!" CJ shouted back confused.

"Yeah!" Ryder shot back. "If you didn't run off to the East Coast in the first place, we wouldn't have been deep in this bullshit!"

"Hey, I told you, nigga! I had to get away from some shit!" CJ snapped back.

"Oh, you mean get away from letting your own brother get murdered and thinking none of that shit was yo' fault in the first place?" Ryder asked in a severely caustic tone. "You just a busta! You was a busta back then and you a busta now!"

CJ was now getting irritated of Ryder's sarcastic remarks. "Okay, you know what?! I had it!" CJ snapped as he got into Ryder's face. "Ever since I came home to make things up for the family, all you've been doing was criticizing me!"

"Because you deserve it, motherfucker!" Ryder snarled at him. "You fucked up! Now you gotta take it to the fucking chin and deal with it! Like I said, you nothing but a thin-skinned busta!"

* * *

That's when CJ finally lost it. "That's it!" CJ growled. "I'll show you who the busta is, nigga!"

CJ pounced on Ryder like a cat and wrestled him to the ground. But Ryder's reflexes were too quick. He countered CJ's attack and finally put him in a headlock. CJ struggled to extricate his head out of Ryder's grip, but Ryder's arm was wrapped around his head tight.

"What's up now, nigga?!" Ryder boasted with his arm still locked around CJ's head. "Who the busta is, you say?! Who's the busta?!"

"Fuck you, Ryder!" CJ muttered still choking from the headlock he was receiving from his friend. Then Ryder tightened his grip so more, causing CJ to nearly suffocate "Fuck, I can't breathe!" CJ muttered struggling to speak through the headlock he was receiving from his friend.

Despite being rather scrawny and much shorter, Ryder was physically much stronger than CJ and always prevailed whenever the two would wrestle each other as children.

"Submit, motherfucker!" Ryder demanded. "Submit!"

"Get the fuck off me!" CJ muttered still struggling to catch his breath.

"Say the magic words, motherfucker!" Ryder demanded.

"Fuck you!" CJ muttered sounding even more constipated. Soon, knowing how he wasn't going to escape from Ryder's extremely tight grip, which was on the verge to suffocate him, CJ had no other choice but to comply to Ryder's demands.

"Okay! Fine!" CJ blurted out sounding more desperate than ever. "I'm a busta! Now let go of my fucking throat, man! I can't fucking breathe!"

"Yeah, I thought so, motherfucker!" Ryder bragged as he smacked CJ hard on the back of the head right before throwing him hard to the grass.

* * *

CJ coughed loudly and gently wrapped his fingers around his throat to catch his breath.

"Let that be a lesson to you, motherfucker!" Ryder scolded. "Think twice before you want to get physical with me! The fuck is wrong with you tryin' to get in it with me?! If you wasn't my homie, I'd bust a cap in yo' punk ass in a motherfucking heartbeat!"

"Look, Ryder," CJ told him, "fighting about this shit just ain't worth it. We got it bad enough as it is. My brother's dead, my moms is dead, my other brother's in jail, there's no telling what's going to happen to my sister, the Ballas have taken over Los Santos, Smoke sold us out, and only God know what C.R.A.S.H. might do to us or Sweet. You and I are all we have. So let's just chill out and stick up to each other. We cool?"

CJ held his hand out to Ryder, expecting a handshake from him. After ten seconds of thinking, Ryder returned the gesture to his friend.

"Jeah, you right, homie," he said. "We still homies fo' life, my nigga. Ya' Heard?" "Cool!" CJ told him. "Now we got business to take care of. Come on."

* * *

CJ and Ryder hopped in a car right next to the trailer building and drove on the road.

"You gonna take us to the building without driving us off the mountain?" Ryder asked.

"I'll try," CJ replied.

"Where'd they say that snake was again?" Ryder asked.

"Mount Chilad," CJ replied. "But seriously, Ryder, why have you been criticizing me this whole time?"

"Because you need criticism, motherfucker!" Ryder replied as CJ drove up the mountain. "Real OG's can take criticism. That's the problem I have with you, CJ. You got thin skin, both literally and figuratively."

"What I need criticism for?" CJ asked.

"Because that's what makes you improve for the better," Ryder told him. "You fucked up the day you decided to run away from Los Santos. It's yo' fault Brian's dead. You never talked to us in five years and the fact you only returned because yo' mama got shot shows how long you were willing to stay out in the East Coast. You made the fucking mess, so it's yo' responsibility to fix it"

"Well you got a point," CJ admitted, "but still, you didn't have to bite my head off like that, nigga."

"Shut the fuck up and look ahead, nigga," Ryder replied. "You still driving."

Without another word, CJ continued to drive up the mountain and finally spotted the cabin.

"So how we gon' get inside that cabin without getting caught by the guards?" CJ asked.

"Ninja style, motherfucker!" Ryder explained. "We sneak up on several of them and surreptitiously take 'em out."

"You know, Ryder," CJ said sounding rather impressed, "I'm surprised you even know what "surreptitiously" means." CJ sneered.

"Just follow my lead, motherfucker," Ryder said.

* * *

So CJ and Ryder hopped out of the car and crawled up behind one of the guards. Ryder lifted himself from the ground and used his right hand to cover the guard's mouth while stabbing him in the throat.

"Now that's what I call killing them softly," CJ joked.

So he used the same technique Ryder used on the guard on another guard. He made his way inside in search of the witness inside. As soon as he stepped inside, he pulled out his tech 9 and shot the witness dead. He put aside his weapon and pulled out his camera to take a picture of the witness' corpse.

CJ later ran out of the cabin and spotted Ryder outside smoking a joint.

"Come on, Ryder!" CJ shouted at his friend. "Let's go!"

Ryder dropped his joint and dashed alongside with him. They hopped inside the car and drove off.

"Slow down, motherfucker!" Ryder told CJ as the latter started speeding up. "Just because we trying to escape one-time don't mean you have to drive crazy!"

CJ knew the danger he might put him and his friend if he kept the driving up. So he took his friend's advice and drove much smoothly down the mountain. They made it back to the trailer in Angel Pine to meet Tenpenny and Pulaski.

"Didn't expect you boys to return unscathed," Tenpenny joked.

"Whatever, motherfucker," CJ told him. "We got the photo of the dead body."

He pulled out the photograph and showed it to Tenpenny.

"You did well, Carl," Tenpenny said as he slowly grabbed the photo out of CJ's hand. "Hey, Eddie, did our boys do good?" he asked his partner.

"Exactly what they were told," Pulaski replied.

"Excellent," Tenpenny said. He turned to CJ and Ryder. "You boys be safe out here," he told him. "Me and Pulaski got business to take care of." The policemen hopped inside the car and squealed away.

* * *

Ryder took a seat in a lawn chair and began smoking a blunt. CJ took another lawn chair and sat adjacent to Ryder.

"Shit's fucked up, now," CJ said. "Our homie Smoke played us, Tenpenny played us."

"They played us all," Ryder told him.

"And I've been thinking about what you said, Ryder," CJ said. "You was right. I was a busta when my family needed me the most. I let Brian die. I ran away to Liberty City, only thinking about myself, forgetting what was more important. I missed my moms' funeral. I deserved all the criticism you gave me, and I know why you did it. Because you my homie, and real homies criticize their homies to let them know how much shit they fucked up and how they can fix it. You criticized me out of your heart, and criticism helps people learn from their mistakes and try their best to improve, which I'm doing now. So now I'm glad you criticized me, because if it wasn't for your criticism, I wouldn't have shown I got what it takes to be a true gangster. You really are a genius, Ryder."

"See? I told you, my nigga," Ryder told him.

"Yeah," CJ laughed. "You proved me wrong."

"Jeah," Ryder replied. "I got love for you, CJ, but you need someone to call you out on yo' dumb ass mistakes. One thing you have to learn is that sometimes, yo' closest homies are gonna have to criticize you to push you hard enough."

"Yeah, you right," CJ said. "Perhaps I should've just taken it to the chin like the real OG's do. You got me."

"Fo' sho', my homie," Ryder replied.

* * *

But CJ was still curious of what happened in Los Santos while he was away. "So what happened in the past five years I was gone?" he asked. "It's a long ass story," Ryder told him as he coughed from inhaling the marijuana dust while smoking it. "The whole bullshit started last year. C.R.A.S.H. was beating on most of the OG's in our family. There was even one night in which C.R.A.S.H. even crashed our hangout under the freeway and we tried to escape. Little Devil tried to outrun they asses, but got killed in the car crash. We was falling apart. So Sweet and Smoke came in contact with a loan shark who went by the name Black Jack, and that motherfucker gave Sweet $200 for the families. We had to work to pay back Black Jack and in return, he was gonna help us defeat them Balla pushers." He stopped to smoke his joint and let out another cough. "So right when we working with LB at the junkyard," Ryder continued barely coherent, "yo' moms went down with a heart attack and we now had to pay for both the transplant and the loan shark. It just seemed no matter how much we robbed, no matter how much money we were making off of doing other crazy shit, we were running out of options." He stopped again to smoke his joint. As Ryder continued, he struggled to catch his breath.

* * *

"So this Saddlewhite white trash gang, the Tarantulas, came out in Los Santos to work with us, and we made a lot of money. Then while me, Sweet, Smoke, T, and Big Devil celebrated in the car, that white trash gang did a drive-by on us and me, Smoke, Sweet, and T were alright, while Big D bit the bullet. So the Grove Street gangs were rounded up and we ran those punk ass Tarantulas out of our city, and Sweet even killed the leader of the gang. We still had the money to pay for yo' moms' hear transplant and she came out feeling healthy again. They just when we finally made enough money to pay back Black Jack, me, Sweet, Smoke, and T were put in exile out here." "Wait! You been here before?" CJ asked. "Jeah," Ryder replied. "Smoke, Sweet, T, and I were stuck out here and took the train back to find that C.R.A.S.H. was about to tear down our hood!" "No shit?!" CJ asked sounding suddenly astonished. "Really?" "Jeah," Ryder replied. "But we had help from my man LB and stopped them motherfuckers from making that shit happen. Also, Kilo Trays' leader Tuckah instigated a gang war between Seville and Temple Drive and got into a gunfight with Sweet. Sweet, of course, prevailed." "Oh I already knew that, homie," CJ said. "Sweet told me all about that." "Unfortunately," Ryder continued, "that also caused the Ballas to do a drive-by on us and T-Murder got struck by bullets. Right when we planned a funeral for him, the Ballas came and ambushed the cemetery. Then we got into even more trouble with the Vagos when one of them shot Lisa in the leg." "Oh shit!" CJ cried out. "Lisa got shot?!" "Jeah," Ryder replied. "It was at that moment when she decided to move away from the hood for good. I ain't spoken to her since." Lisa was Ryder's older sister who he never got along with. CJ was worried about what would've happened if Ryder lost his sister after losing his younger brother.

* * *

"Damn!" CJ said. "Sorry all that had to happen to you guys, man." "Last year was when Ballas and Vagos took over our hood and Grove Street Families were either killed or locked up fo' life," Ryder continued. But luckily, Sweet got back at C.R.A.S.H. and blew up their office with a smoke bomb. Tenpenny was pissed like a motherfucker!" CJ just laughed along with his friend. "I would've loved to see the look on Tenpenny's face," he said gleefully. "But unfortunately," Ryder continued, "that's probably was the reason why the Ballas tried to kill Sweet the night before you came back, because Sweet eventually got back at Black Jack's ass and jacked his spirit out of him. They ended up blasting Mrs. Johnson instead." "Man, shit's been fucked up here in the 90s so far," CJ said. "It's only the beginning of the decade and already, we've falling apart. Man, this decade is already shitty." "No kidding, motherfucker," Ryder replied. "I still won't forget the time our gang used to be big out in the hood." "Hell yeah," CJ replied. "We had our homies sticking up to us, Seville and Temple Drive were still tight with each other, man I miss the '80s so much. Fuck the '90s." When CJ noticed Ryder still smoking his joint, he began to feel worried. "A'ight, listen, Ryder," CJ told his friend, "If I can stop being a busta and grow some thick skin, then you can quit the water for good. It's really fucking up yo' train of thought, homie. Not to mention you the only friend I got by my side right now. So please, Ryder, if you want our families to get back on their feet, you should swear off the water for good." Ryder just looked away and thought for a moment. After about ten seconds of thinking, he finally said, "You right, homie. I'll tell you what. Just let me smoke this final joint and I'm off the water for good." "You swear?" CJ asked. "I'm positive, homie," Ryder replied putting one hand across his heart.

* * *

After fifteen minutes, Ryder finally threw away his last joint and he and CJ headed back inside the trailer. They were both stuck in the Badlands without any options. As CJ finally headed to bed, it was all smothering his mind. The year has so far not been so kind to CJ. His mother has been murdered, C.R.A.S.H. was blackmailing him, Sweet was imprisoned, and Big Smoke, his closest friend who was a close father figure to him, has betrayed him. What's worse was that he was responsible for the death of his mother. Now all he had by his side was Ryder, who, despite the way he acted towards CJ, still stuck by his side. So there was at least some redemption to all the predicaments. For now, CJ wanted to make everything right by tomorrow and soon drifted to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3: First Date

The next morning, CJ woke up and got dressed into a blue flannel shirt and beige khaki pants with black and white Chuck Taylor sneakers and headed outside. He spotted Ryder outside leaning against the trailer.

"Yo Ryder!" CJ called to his friend. Ryder turned around to face CJ.

"What's up, homie?" Ryder replied.

"There's something I forgot to mention to you when I told you about Smoke's betrayal," CJ told him.

"Jeah? And what's that?" Ryder asked.

"When Cesar showed me Smoke selling us out," CJ explained, "we saw them reveal the Green Sabre out the garage."

"The Green Sabre?!" Ryder shouted shocked out of his mind. "You mean the one that drove by the hood and which the Ballas did a drive-by at an attempt to murder Sweet?! Why you didn't say anything, motherfucker?!"

"I guess I was so shocked that I skipped over that detail," CJ said.

"Damn!" Ryder groaned. "So it was Smoke who tried to kill Sweet!"

"Yeah, CJ said. "It all makes sense now. Those times Smoke was acting weird, how he was acting all happy to see me return and shit, how he tried to order all that food at Cluckin' Bell last month, C.R.A.S.H. walking in and out of his house, which is in Idlewood! It all makes sense now! All of that was to mask his betrayal! He used me! He used all of us! And like a bunch of fools, we fell for it!"

"Man, that fat motherfucker really gonna pay!" Ryder snarled. "Where's my pistol?!"

Ryder attempted to storm into the trailer to obtain his weapon. But CJ squelched his movement.

"Who, slow down, Ryder!" CJ said. "Remember, Tenpenny told us we gotta stay away from Smoke. There ain't telling what's gonna happen to Sweet while he's locked up. So we just gotta play it cool, stay low-key, and when the time is right, then we can throw the punch. You feel me, homie?"

Ryder took a few seconds to think about what CJ said. While he was too impatient to wait to get even with Big Smoke, he knew what Big Smoke had planned out. So he decided to take CJ's advice instead.

"You right, homie," Ryder replied. "I'll just be inside trying to eradicate the shit off my mind."

* * *

So Ryder slowly trotted inside the trailer and closed the door behind him.

Just then, CJ heard his cell phone ring. He pulled it out of his pocket to answer it. He already knew who is was that called him. "Cesar, it's me!" he answered.

"Carl, you alright, holmes?" Cesar asked through the phone. "Your sister's been worried. I heard some shit's been down."

CJ let out a fresh breath of relief. Kendl was okay, and that was one of the few things that mattered to him. "Yeah," CJ agreed. "Los Santos is dangerous right now. We out in the middle of...I don't know...Whetstone, whatever that is."

"Don't know Whetstone too well," Cesar answered. "I got some family out there, I think. But at least you ain't in jail, holmes. Shit's fucked up with your brother, ese."

"You be careful," CJ warned, "and look after Kendl."

"Don't worry about me, man," Cesar replied. "You worry about the man who tries to fuck with my woman. I got some backup coming out to protect you."

 _Backup, huh?_ CJ thought. _This oughta be interesting._

"My cousin," Cesar continued. "Real intense, holmes. Trust me. Meet them over at the diner in Dillimore over in Red County. You won't miss them."

As Cesar hung up, CJ put his cell phone aside

"Dillimore?" he asked under his breath. "Where the hell that at?"

CJ looked around to ask for directions. He spotted a pedestrian wearing a red hat, orange windbreaker, and red track pants

"Hey, you know how I can get to Dillimore?" he asked the pedestrian.

"Screw that!" the pedestrian scoffed as he pulled out a map from his pocket and handed it to CJ. "Here's a map. You can red it and find out for yourself."

"Perfect!" CJ cheered. "Thanks, man!"

"Don't mention it, pal!" the pedestrian replied as he walked away.

CJ rushed back to the trailer and hopped inside the car. His phone rang again, and CJ took it out of his pocket and answered it

"Carl, it's me," he heard Sweet answer.

CJ was shocked to hear his brother's voice again. Sweet was okay, and CJ hoped it would stay that way for a long time.

"Sweet, what's going on, man?" CJ asked.

"Man, what the fuck you think is going on?" Sweet replied curtly. "I'm in a prison hospital, nigga!"

"I know," CJ told his brother. "You alright?"

"Hell no," Sweet replied. "You gotta do something, man."

"I'm trying, man," CJ told him. "I just gotta make sure Kendl's safe first."

"Alright man, I gotta go," Sweet said over the phone.

"Don't worry, bro," CJ said. "I ain't gonna leave you in there. Oh, and Sweet! There's something I forgot to tell you when I saw Smoke's betrayal."

"Yeah, and what's that?" Sweet asked.

"You mean the one that drove by our hood and sprayed our Moms?" Sweet asked in shock.

"Yeah," CJ replied. "Smoke and Tenpenny were also involved with that."

"Ah shit!" Sweet said. "This whole time, Smoke was responsible for Moms' death!"

"Yeah," CJ replied. "Now listen, just hold tight and I'll get you out soon."

As CJ put aside his phone, he started the car and checked the map.

"Okay, since I'm right here in Angel Pine, then Dillimore should be up north," he muttered.

So CJ put aside the map and drove to the freeway. The road was packed, and the cars were driving wild. A frustrated CJ, trying his hardest to avoid road rage, drove smoothly and made his way out of the exit. He drove high up the hills and finally came across a diner. As he parked in a space near the restaurant, he checked the map and read the street sign.

"This the place," he concluded. He hopped out of the car and made his way inside the diner.

* * *

CJ heard clamor inside and looked straight ahead to find what appeared to be a Latina woman wearing all black attacking some patrons with a pocket knife.

"You want some fatso?!" the crazy woman asked ominously. "You big streak of Yankee piss! I seen fucking eunuchs with more balls than you!"

She pulled out a knife and held it to one of the patrons. She then turned around to find CJ standing by the entrance. "What the fuck do you want?!" the woman asked sternly.

"Nothing," CJ replied. "I'm looking for a friend of mine's cousin. Mexican guy. He ain't here."

"You?" the woman asked. "But Cesar said you was a real man."

It was clear to CJ. The crazy woman _was_ Cesar's cousin. "Lady, I'm a God fearing, peace-loving man of the people!"

"Whatever, asshole!" the woman replied taking a few steps backwards toward CJ with the knife pointed at one of the patrons. "Let's go!" She shoved CJ towards the door.

"Damn, baby!" CJ complained. "Relax!"

 _Real intense, Cesar?_ CJ thought.

How Cesar described his cousin by the looks of it was a huge understatement. CJ was real shocked to learn how crazy the woman was. He had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

CJ and the woman walked outside.

"Where's your car?" the woman asked.

"Where's yours?" CJ asked back.

"Ladies don't drive themselves," the woman replied. That's what men are for."

CJ then spotted a car nearby. "Oh my goodness!" CJ squealed in a very appreciative tone. "Thanks, Cesar! Appreciate this, homie!"

He and the woman hopped inside the car and CJ turned it on. He turned to the woman.

"So what's your name?" he asked. "Where we going?"

"My name is Catalina," the woman answered, "and we're gonna take this country for every stinking cent!"

"Okay," CJ answered nonchalantly. "Good plan...I guess."

"You're damn straight it's a good plan!" Catalina replied. "I cased four soft targets: a liquor store in Blueberry, a bank in Palimino Creek, a gas station in Dillimore, and the betting shop in Montgomery."

CJ's head was spinning. Having not been in the Badlands before in his life, those four places were not familiar to him, and he had no idea where any of them were.

"Hold on," CJ said. "Which one first?"

"You're the driver you dumb pig!" Catalina snapped. "You choose!"

CJ just shook his head and stared at the map. "Why are you stalling, you stupid mule?!" Catalina asked impatiently. "Pick already!"

"Relax, girl!" CJ said. "I'm reading the map! I gotta make sure where we go."

"Just gimme the fucking map!" Catalina shouted snatching the map out of CJ's hands. She took a look at it and pointed to the northern west area. "The gas station's that direction!" she announced.

So CJ started driving. "You pretty high strung, huh, lady?" CJ asked Catalina.

"Yeah, and what are you?" Catalina asked back. "Some laid back gangbanger dude."

"I keep myself to myself," CJ answered. "That's my style."

"Cesar says you got a brother in jail," Catalina stated, "another brother dead, a mother just killed, a childhood friend by your side, another childhood friend who betrayed you, and you got a bent cop on your case!"

"I ain't listening to you," CJ said not taking the time to stare at Catalina.

"You think that is keeping yourself to yourself, eh, amigo?" Catalina asked. "Real cool? You're just an idiota!"

"And you're real charming," CJ replied sarcastically. "A proper lady."

CJ knew he was going to have a difficult time reasoning with this woman. So he just continued driving. He spotted the gas station up ahead and pulled the car over to a stop.

* * *

As he and Catalina exited the car, Catalina pulled out a shotgun from the back seat.

"Well the hell did you get that from?!" CJ asked.

"Never mind that!" Catalina demanded. "Just get out of my way!" She headed to the entrance and pointed the shotgun at the workers. "Hand over the takings or I blow your fucking balls off!" Catalina threatened.

"This here's bulletproof glass," the owner of the store replied confidently. "So you can just fuck off, bitch, before I call the sheriff!"

"What are you doing, son?" his partner asked sounding apprehensive. "Just give her the cash."

"Suit yourself, maricon!" Catalina responded. She headed towards the truck outside. "Change in plans, Carl!" she said. "We're taking the tanker!"

"Hey what you doing?" the owner asked.

 _Man, I can't believe Cesar hooked me up with a crazy bitch,_ CJ thought. Without a single word, he begrudgingly followed Catalina and hopped inside the truck. But before CJ could start driving, the owners of the store hopped inside their car.

"I ain't losing another crappy job because of some crazy bitch," the owner said. "Come on, Derek! We gotta stop those bastards!"

"Do we have to?" Derek whined.

"Drive!" Catalina commanded to CJ as the latter started driving. "I know a guy who'll pay for this rig and its cargo!"

"If only I knew how to drive a fucking tank truck!" CJ said.

He was not very good at driving a tank truck. To make matters worse, the owners were hot on his tail and one of them was even shooting at the truck. So CJ had to drive both quickly and carefully to avoid the tank truck disconnecting. There were so many sharp turns around the road, and the truck was moving really slow.

 _Man I hope I don't fuck this up,_ CJ thought. As he came down to a slope, Catalina shouted, "Turn left here!"

CJ complied and rolled down through the bridge. As he continued driving, he spotted a shed that had the sign "RS Haul" in front.

"That's the place!" Catalina shouted. "Stop here!"

CJ pulled the truck over at the right spot, and he and Catalina exited the truck. The two gas station owners hopped out of their car, which continued rolling and eventually exploded as soon as it hit a nearby gas station, and ran away. CJ and Catalina approached a man wearing a blue flannel shirt and faded jeans.

"Hello, Mr. Whittaker," Catalina greeted.

"Catalina!" Mr. Whittaker answered staring at the truck. "What have you brought me today?"

"A rig and a tanker," Catalina answered back. "Full to the brim with premium gas."

"Never seen it! Never saw you! Never gave you this wad of cash!" Mr. Whittaker said handing Catalina a stack of money.

"Nice not doing business," Catalina replied accepting the money.

"Likewise," Mr. Whittaker said. "Now get out of here before the cops come snooping. You ever want to run some freight for me, just drop right in. I've always got shit to move."

CJ turned around to spot Catalina hopping on a Sanchez. "Hey where'd you...?" CJ asked bewildered.

"Business, Carl!" Catalina answered. "Goodbye."

She rode away and CJ just stood there scratching his head in confusing.

 _Damn, that girl is crazy,_ he thought. _I don't know how Cesar could be related to that lady. If only Ryder were around. I can only imagine how he'd handle her._

Just then, CJ heard his cell phone ring. He pulled it out of his pocket to answer it.

"Yeah," CJ answered.

"Carl," he heard a strange man's voice say.

CJ was even more confused. How did that man get his number? "Who is this?" he asked.

"You know me," the man answered. "This is The Truth."/

"No, I don't," CJ answered.

"Perfection," the Truth answered. "They said you were a moron."

"Who?" CJ asked.

"Okay," the Truth replied. "You can drop the act now, kid."

"You the police?" CJ asked.

"No," the Truth answered. "We have a mutual friend and business partner."

"We do?" CJ asked once again. "Who?"

"Yes," the Truth replied. "Have you killed any cops lately?"

It finally hit him! CJ learned that whoever was the Truth guy was also working for Officer Tenpenny. "Oh man!" CJ groaned. "Tenpenny! I should've know! That asshole!"

"So I've got a room at a motel in Angel Pine. Make sure nobody follows you."

CJ hung up his cell phone and slipped it in his pocket.

 _Who the hell is this Truth guy?_ he thought. _And what the hell does he want from me?_

Without saying another word, CJ hopped inside an abandoned car parked by the gas station and rolled back to Angel Pine./p


	4. Chapter 4: Body Harvest

As CJ made his way back to Angel Pine, he finally spotted the building of the motel.

"This must be the spot," CJ muttered. He knocked on the door.

"Hello!" CJ called as he continued knocking. "Hello?! Somebody in there?!"

"In here!" he heard Tenpenny call out in a rather slurred tone.

CJ just opened the door and entered the living room to find Officer Tenpenny sitting on an armchair inhaling smoke from a rainbow pipe. "Check this shit out," CJ said walking through the living room.

He approached Tenpenny, who was blatantly stoned.

"What do we have here?" CJ said not sounding surprised one bit.

"Yo, Carl!" Tenpenny greeted sounding higher than usual. "What up, kid?"

"Hey what's happening?" CJ asked. "Ah, is this undercover training? Ah no, you must be off duty."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Tenpenny replied in a rather wasted tone of voice. "Mr. Truth here is gonna be supplying you with the finest..." He stopped to inhale the smoke out of the pipe, "...weed...and you are gonna deliver it for us!"

"Hey, man," CJ told the stoned cop sounding more confused than ever. "You losing it! You hallucinating and shit!"

"What?" Tenpenny asked. "Oh! Hey, Truth! Come here, man!"

CJ looked forward to find a gray-haired man about somewhere in his 60's wearing a red flannel shirt over baggy olive-colored khaki pants and blue and white sneakers.

 _That must be The Truth,_ CJ thought.

"Welcome, friend," Truth greeted with his hands crossed together as if he was praying while taking a bow, and he took a seat on the chair in the dining room

"'Sup!" CJ greeted back.

"Carl here's gonna be paying you your money," Tenpenny told Truth as he continued to inhale through the pipe.

"What you talking about?" CJ asked eyeing the stoned cop sideways.

"Now Carl," Tenpenny began to say, "I got a real do-gooder fucking with me and I want you to take this evil-green poison and drop it on him." Tenpenny began to chuckle and took another hit of the pipe. "He's gonna ruin that asshole's career!" he continued.

"Ah bullshit!" CJ called out.

"Dude, you want mushrooms?" Truth asked Tenpenny. "Ludes? How about some DMT?"

"Naw, not for me, man," Tenpenny told him putting the pipe aside. "I gotta jet." He hopped off the chair and began to walk out. "Whoo, shit!" he muttered making his way through the exit. "I'm fucked up! Yo Carl! Pay the man!"

As Tenpenny left, Truth left his seat.

"Whoa, man!" Truth cried out in astonishment. "I never thought I'd see that! A fed out-smoking me!" He turned to CJ. "What are you, dude?" Truth asked CJ. "FBI? DEA?"

"Naw," CJ answered. "I'm more like a private investigator."

"Friend, you give off a positive energy," Truth told him. "How about some Vietnamese opium?"

"Naw," CJ replied. "I don't get down with that."

"But how do I know I can trust you?" Truth asked.

"What?!" CJ asked sounding bewildered. He had just met The Truth and already, he was skeptical. "I'm working for you now?"

"I'm a man of peace but some squares across that ridge are not respecting my peace," The Truth

"The fuck that mean?" CJ asked. The Truth's words were becoming very cryptic to him. He couldn't comprehend what it was that The Truth was trying to tell him. At this rate, The Truth made Ryder sound sober and articulate. "Later, freak!" CJ said as he exited the motel.

* * *

As CJ made his way outside, he hopped inside a parked car and drove on the road.

"Can't believe that weird old man got me stealing a harvester from some farm," he muttered to himself.

He drove through Shady Creeks, across a bridge on the highway, and made a left turn to a mountainside in Flint County.

"The farm's seriously up there?" CJ asked in an annoyed tone.

Without another word, he drove up the mountain. It took a while, but when he finally made it to the top, he finally spotted the farm to his left. There, he saw one of the farmers on the harvester. CJ had to think of a way to steal it out of the farm without getting wasted. As soon as he exited the vehicle, he tried to sneak his way inside the farm. He crouched and crawled behind the gate to the side.

"You come to the wrong farm, boy!" he heard a man yell. CJ turned to see a farmer armed with a rifle ready to do him in.

 _Shit!_ CJ thought. _So much for being stealthy!_

He simply pulled out his pistol and shot the farmer dead, causing him to drop his rifle. CJ grabbed the rifle off the ground and made his way through the farm. By the time he got to the crops, he saw that there were two more farmers up ahead ready to do him in.

"Beat him down!" a woman yelled. "It's all he's good for!"

Without hesitation, CJ used the rifle to shoot the farmers dead and continued his journey. Soon, more farmers appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey, who is this guy?" one of them asked.

"I don't know, but he looks kinda shifty!" another replied.

"Roll him in some pig shit!" the third one shouted.

CJ didn't say a word. He just used the rifle to shoot them all dead with one shot and continued trailing through the farm.

By the time he made it to the end, he found the harvester and one of the farmers riding it. CJ hopped the fence and got a little closer to the moving harvester. He aimed the rifle to the driver inside and pulled the trigger. The bullet shot out of the rifle and pierced the farmer's eye, causing him to fall off dead out of the tractor.

"Perfect shot!" CJ gloated. He ran to the harvester and hopped inside. As he began to drive it out of the crops, he found more farmers up ahead.

"Ah shit!" CJ grumbled.

As the farmers attempted to take him down, CJ just ran over them with the harvester as he continued driving the tractor. One by one, each of them were sliced by the running blade of the vehicle, and by the time CJ reached the exit, he spotted more survivalists up ahead.

"A'ight then!" CJ shouted. "It's time for this shit to get personal!"

So CJ hopped out of the harvester and used the rifle to blast the survivalists. As he saw that there were none left, CJ abandoned the would-be survivalists' corpses and hopped back inside the harvester. It was difficult for him to steer the vehicle, especially when he rode it down the hill through sharp, hairpin turns in the road. CJ knew that he had to drive it carefully, and hoped that there weren't any more survivalists on his tail. So he had to speed up a little bit more to make sure it wasn't the case.

* * *

As CJ finally made it to Leafy Hollow, he parked the harvester inside a garage and hopped out to see The Truth

"Man, you've brought peace back to my valley!" The Truth exclaimed. "Thank you, friend. I'll call you when the whoop-de-doo is ready, just make sure you get that cash."

As The Truth walked away, CJ heard his phone ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it.

"Eh," CJ answered.

"Carl, it's Cesar," he heard Cesar say over the phone.

"Whassup?" CJ answered.

"Bad stinking shit, that's wassup, holmes," Cesar explained.

"What's wrong?" CJ asked feeling worried. "Where's Kendl?! Is she OK?!"

"She's with me, she's OK for now," Cesar answered back.. "The Varrios Los Aztecas - it's all over. There's a price on my head, maybe Kendl's too."

"What happened?" CJ asked in a wary tone.

"Trust, respect, honor - they don't mean jack in Los Santos now," Cesar replied. "My OG's, my eses, all dead or in hiding, eh."

"Get out of town!" CJ demanded. "Head over to Angel Pine, rent you and Kendl a trailer, and I'll meet you there!"

"OK," Cesar agreed. "I just got some shit to take care of and..."

"No!" CJ interrupted his friend urgently. "Just get my sister out of town and someplace safe! Don't shit with me on this one, I can't lose her, man!"

"Sure thing, holmes." Cesar replied. "We'll see you in Angel Pine."

CJ put aside his cell phone and spotted a vehicle nearby.

"Damn!" CJ said to himself. "Shit's getting real intense now!" Without another word, CJ hopped inside the vehicle and drove off.


	5. Chapter 5: King in Exile

When CJ finally arrived back to the trailer in Angel Pine, he exited the car and walked up to the trailer. Just then, he spotted Ryder talking to someone on the phone.

"From the betting shop," Ryder said over the phone. "Where else?"

A woman's voice was heard saying something to Ryder. CJ couldn't make out what the woman was saying due to her speaking distantly. But she sounded somewhat angry and irritated with Ryder over something.

"I told you," Ryder answered. "I'm through with the water for good! Believe me!"

The woman's voice sounding somewhat stern and skeptical to CJ.

"How the fuck I'm supposed to prove it to ya?" Ryder answered. "Can you see me through the phone?"

The woman said something else, still sounding stern.

"I told you, I ain't lying!" Ryder said sounding annoyed. "I quit the water fo' good! Why don't you get off my back with that shit?!"

CJ heard the woman over the phone continuing incoherently.

"I am, girl! I am!" Ryder said sounding more impatient than usual. "Now would you quit getting on my case with that shit?! I said I was off for good! What more do I have to prove?!"

CJ then heard the woman sounding as if she had calm down and somewhat still strict.

"Yo Ryder," CJ said to his best friend. "Who that?!"

"You don't need to worry about that!" Ryder said to the woman ignoring CJ's question. "I know how to take care of myself! I'm a dangerous OG! Ain't nobody can stop me!"

The woman then said something else incoherently, sounding like she was worried.

"I will, girl! I will! Don't worry about a thing!"

* * *

Ryder then hung up the phone and stored it in his pocket. He turned to CJ.

"That was Lisa," he answered. "She still don't believe I'm off that wet."

"That was Lisa?!" CJ replied. "How come you didn't let me talk to her?!"

"Nigga, what the fuck you need to talk to her for?" Ryder asked.

"I ain't seen her in five years, man," CJ said.

"So?" Ryder replied.

"Her business is her business. You don't need to say jack shit to her! But I can tell you something else! Check it out!"

Ryder reached out of his pocket to pull out a bundle of cash. CJ was shocked.

"Holy shit!" CJ cried out. "Where'd you get all of this?!"

"From the betting shop, nigga," Ryder replied with a smirk. "I gambled $800 from those motherfuckers! Been taking they asses to the cleaners."

"Shit, Ryder!" CJ said sounding very impressed. "Maybe you are a genius!"

"Jeah," Ryder replied. "I told you, my nigga. Here's $400. Spend this shit wisely, motherfucker!"

"Whatever, man," CJ said accepting the money Ryder offered him. "Let's go inside. Cesar and Kendl are probably already inside."

* * *

When CJ and Ryder entered the trailer, they found Cesar and Kendl making love to each other. When the couple noticed the two young gangsters walking in, they walked up to them.

"Hey, Carl," Kendl greeted as she gave her brother a hug.

"How you doing, sis?" CJ greeted back.

"What's up, CJ?" Cesar greeted giving CJ a knuckle touch.

He then pointed to Ryder. "Oh, Cesar," CJ said greeting Cesar to his friend, "this my homie, Ryder. Ryder, Cesar."

"What's up, holmes?" Cesar greeted Ryder holding out his hand to shake.

Ryder just stared back looking somewhat skeptical. "What's up, homie?" Ryder answered back sounding more ominous than friendly. "Sweet told me eses like you are all up to no good! So how I know you ain't gonna stab any of us in the back?!"

"Listen, holmes," Cesar stated, "I love your homie's sister more than ever and I would die from a bunch of bullets punctured in my organs to protect her. CJ, I respect him as a friend as well, and that's exactly why I told him about Smoke's betrayal because I still cared about your homie's safety. Trust me, betrayal is the last thing I would lower myself to."

Ryder thought about it for a second. After experiencing the terrible events he, alongside Sweet and the rest of the gang, got into the previous year, he wasn't sure if Cesar would be trustworthy. But thinking about what Cesar said about Big Smoke, he decided he would settle down with Cesar...for now.

"A'ight, homie," Ryder replied returning the handshake to Cesar. "I guess we cool then. But just to remind you, I'm watching you, make sure you don't do anything sketchy! Believe me, I can tell when someone's about to play me, and you don't want to get on my bad side, homie!"

* * *

"Never mind him, Cesar," Kendl told Cesar. "He's still suffering from LMS: Little Man Syndrome."

CJ and Cesar laughed. Ryder was annoyed by Kendl's snide remark.

"Very funny," Ryder replied. "I'm not the one who pulled a muscle trying to lift a fucking book bag. So what do you got?!"

CJ laughed again.

"Whoa!" Cesar chuckled amusingly. "He got you there, Kendl!"

"Hey, that bag was heavy, okay?!" Kendl shouted sounding defensive.

"Yeah," Ryder replied caustically. "Two flat books are definitely too much for you to handle."

"You're one to talk, asshole!" Kendl snarled. "I'm sure Lisa would tell us the story of the matches between you and her."

CJ and Cesar then gasped and laughed.

"Oh yeah, holmes!" Cesar called out. "Kendl told me how you kept getting your ass kicked by your own sister every time you two would square off with each other."

Ryder felt his face burning as CJ and Cesar continued to laugh.

"Hey, at least I won fights," Ryder shot back. "When's the last time you ever punched anybody? I still ain't gonna forget the time you were fighting with that crackheaded bitch at the playground and got yo' weave pulled out!"

That's when Kendl lost it. She hated anyone who would bring it up in her presence and would resort in physical violence whenever they do. "I'ma pull that nappy Jheri curl out of that thick scalp of yours, asshole," Kendl shouted, "and you'll need a thinking cap on for life when I'm through with you!"

She charged after Ryder, but the latter was too fast and dashed around the room. He hid inside the closet and Kendl tried to reach up to Ryder as CJ and Cesar held her back.

"Come on, Ryder!" CJ said. "You just gonna run away from her like that?"

"Naw, homie," Ryder told him. "Because if she hits me, I'ma hit her back! And if I hit her back, you gonna try to fight me for putting my hands on yo' crazy ass sibling! You and me already fought once! So I ain't letting her put her hands on me!"

"Calm down, Kendl!" Cesar warned her. "Calm down! Listen, let's not fight each other. I don't want this to get anymore out-of-hand than it already is."

"Fine," Kendl grumbled and reluctantly complied to Cesar's pleas.

* * *

Ryder stepped out of the closet warily.

"Besides," Cesar continued, "we got much bigger issues to worry about, holmes! This ain't over, man! I did this to take care of my woman! But now I'm gonna head straight back home, and I'm gonna cap me some fucking dope dealers!"

"Hey look," CJ warned Cesar. "You go into the barrio with that big willy bullshit, and you gonna get shredded!"

"Yeah," Kendl added. "And I ain't losing you over no macho bullshit!"

"Listen to 'em, fool," Ryder chimed in. "Sweet and I made that same mistake last year and I had to get eight stitches on my leg because of that bullshit, homie!"

Cesar didn't say a word. He was just too frustrated. He stormed off a few inches.

"Hey relax, man!" CJ told his friend. "It's gonna get handled when it's time!"

Cesar then cut CJ off by raising his hand up front. "We already know who the fucking bad guys are, man," Cesar grumbled. "Your stinking Grove Street brother Smoke, and those chota pigs Tenpenny and Pulaski! Smoke, he's a pusher, man!"

CJ could hardly believe his ears when Cesar told him that out loud. While Smoke did stab him in the back, he would never sink so low to deal drugs.

"No, no!" CJ said defending his homie. "Not Smoke! He might mess with C.R.A.S.H., but he don't mess with no yay!"

"Come on, CJ!" Kendl scolded. "How you think he got that new house, huh?!"

"You know," Ryder chimed in, "fo' the first time ever, I'm actually with Kendl here! CJ, you need to stop being a busta and concede the fact that Smoke been down with the drug trade! The clues were right in our faces! He lives in Idlewood! He had C.R.A.S.H. at his house! Hell for all we know, he could've very well made money off of yo' mama's life insurance! You in denial, motherfucker!"

"See?" Kendl told CJ. "Even your stoned-out friend here agrees with us! Just let that "Grove for life!" bullshit go and take a look around you!"

CJ thought about what the others said to him and paced around the room.

"Word on the street is twice a week," Cesar explained, "Smoke sends a car out to San Fierro, and the truck comes back full of white!"

"That's funny!" Ryder chimed in. "That's what my homie, LB, told me just this afternoon! He said Smoke's lieutenants carry the coke or whatever the fuck Smoke's been on on bikes and right across the country!"

"Shit!" CJ blurted. "I gotta keep my eye on the highway to San Fierro. Maybe I'll see something! Just...just lay low and I'll be back!"

"Right behind ya, homie," Ryder said walking out the door with CJ. "I gotta get in contact with LB and see what kind of info he digging up fo' us."

* * *

As CJ and Ryder walked outside, Ryder turned back to CJ.

"Hey, CJ," Ryder said. "If you need any help, just call me, a'ight?!"

"Yeah," CJ said. "Sure thing, Ryder."

Ryder hopped inside a truck, started the engine, and squealed away.

 _Man I hope Ryder don't become the next victim of Smoke's conspiracies,_ CJ thought.

Just then, his cell phone rang. CJ pulled it out to answer it.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Where you been, asshole?!" he heard Catalina shout so loud that CJ had to hold the phone about two inches away from his ear.

 _How the fuck did this bitch get my number?_ CJ thought. _Damn! Cesar probably gave it to her!_

"Why don't you call, eh?" Catalina continued shouting.

"Well I was just about to call you," CJ lied. "But-"

"LIAR!" Catalina shouted causing CJ to hold the phone in front of his face to keep from getting his eardrum blown out. "You've been hanging out with those stinking putas!"

"No!" CJ started to say. "If you'd just let me-"

"Silence!" Catalina interrupted. "Get up here! We've got places to rob!"

"Look," CJ told the crazy Latina woman. "I'm in the middle of some shit right-"

But before he knew it, Catalina had just hang up on him. CJ put aside his phone.

 _This bitch didn't even tell me where to meet her at,_ he thought. He hopped on a motorcycle and started the engine.

* * *

Before he started to ride, he heard his pager beep. When he pulled it out of his pocket, he read the message that said "Hideout, Fern Ridge, Red County".

"That must be the place," CJ muttered and pulled out the map in his pocket.

He red thoroughly and found that it was up north, miles far from where he was now.

"This bitch got me driving all the way over there," CJ groaned, and he rode off on the rode.

While driving on a motorcycle in the evening sky, the air blew in his face, and he felt blood rushing through his skull. The cold air felt nice and relaxing. CJ felt a chill in his spine as he found the ride very smooth. After about twenty minutes of driving, CJ finally made it to Red County. He rode up the hill to his right and saw an abandoned hideout on the top.

 _This must be the place Catalina stay at,_ CJ thought. He hopped off the motorcycle and walked up to the hideout.


	6. Chapter 6: Local Liquor Store

"Hey Catalina, baby!" CJ called as he entered the front porch. "It's me, Carl Johnson!"

He knocked on the door.

"Hey baby, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot!" CJ continued. There was no answer.

"I've had a rough time, baby!" CJ shouted. "You know, maybe I was a little harsh! Please forgive me! C'mon, baby!"

Still no answer.

"Open up the door - shit," CJ muttered. He took a peep through one of the windows. "Is she here?" CJ asked himself still peering through the glass window.

The glass was too hazy for CJ to even see anything inside.

"I don't see nothing," he grumbled. He knocked on the door once again.

"C'mon, baby, don't be mad, baby please!" he continued to beg.

But all he heard was silence. He stepped away from the porch and looked around the hideout.

"Baby, without you, there is no Carl Johnson!" At this point, CJ felt pathetic. He was begging for a woman he didn't even know to come out and was practically apologizing for nothing.

* * *

"Damn, man, shit," CJ pouted as he took another step in front of the hideout. "Now where is this stupid bitch?"

Before he could react, he felt someone's foot shove him to the ground and violently pull him by the collar, as well as a gun cocking.

"Here, cabron!" he heard Catalina say. He looked up just in time to watch the crazy Latina woman holding him at gun point. The barrel of the pistol was pointed right at his right temple, and CJ just knew he was caught by surprise. "Who's the bitch now, eh?"Catalina asked smugly.

"Oh baby, baby!" CJ pleaded for mercy. "I'm so sorry, baby!"

"What was that?" the psychopathic Latina asked.

"You so right!" CJ told her. "Please forgive me, baby! Just don't fucking shoot me! Please!"

CJ couldn't believe it. A young gangbanger, who has been fearless and brave enough to battle his way through many rival gangs while trying to protect the ones he loved, was now down on his knees ironically begging for clemency while a psychopath was holding him at gun point. The fact that he kept on repeating the word "baby" in almost every sentence he was talking in certainly wasn't helping his case. It was the most embarrassing moment for CJ.

 _Man, if Ryder was here to see this, he'd probably never let me hear the end of it,_ he thought. He could already hear Ryder's voice taunting him for this.

 _"I thought you was an OG, homie! Yet you let this bitch make you her bitch?! Youse a busta, CJ! Straight busta!"_

* * *

Enough was enough for CJ. It was time for him to stay calm about this and suck it up. He was a gangster, and begging for his life like a coward would get him nowhere. So CJ took a deep breath and kept his cool.

"You think you sorry, huh?!" Catalina replied still sounding skeptical. "How you going to prove you're sorry?"

"C'mon now, baby, c'mon," CJ told her calmly. He tried to sweet talk the woman to make himself seem more confident. "I am going to play with you SO rough, baby."

"Keep talking!" Catalina demanded.

"And I'll take you to rob banks and shit," CJ continued. This caused Catalina to quiver amorously. "I'll let you kill anyone you want to kill." Catalina then hummed calmly.

"I am going to treat you right, baby," CJ told her keeping his composure right before gradually beginning to panic again. "Just... c'mon...just please don't shoot me."

"Carl," Catalina told the gangbanger. "I think I love you." She then lowered her pistol and had a soothing and sudden serene look in her face as if going through an orgasm.

CJ quickly altered from feeling apprehensive to now confused. "Err...shit, that's great!" CJ said still sounding more perplexed. "Cool! Yeah, fantastic! All that!"

He slowly got back up onto his feet. Catalina was about two inches shorter and was still feeling rather amorous and silent.

"You wanna go rob some shit, baby?" CJ asked in a more meticulous tone of voice hoping Catalina wouldn't try anything.

But she just chuckled amorously. "Hm-hmm, ha ha! Hm-hmm!"

 _Well that was the strangest shit I've ever seen,_ CJ thought as he followed Catalina to her vehicle.

* * *

"Aye, what we got left?" CJ asked as he and Catalina entered the vehicle.

"Are you stupid?" Catalina asked as CJ started the car. "You forgot already?! The bank in Palomino Creek, the liquor store in Blueberry, the betting shop in Montgomery."

"Okay," CJ told her starring at the map. "But this time we gon' do it real chill, no crazy psycho shit, baby."

"Speak for yourself, soft boy!" Catalina told him as CJ finally made a left turn in the road. "Today, I feel like killing all the men I meet!"

"Aw baby!" CJ complained while driving and making it to Blueberry.

"Don't worry," Catalina promised. "I make an exception for some of the men in my life. Now drive faster!"

After about five seconds of driving around, CJ spotted the liquor store up ahead.

"That's the place!" Catalina shouted. "Stop here!" CJ pulled the car over and the two hopped out of the car.

* * *

"This place will be a walk in the park!" Catalina said confidently.

"You mean like the last place?" CJ said snidely.

Just then, four cowboys riding in quads arrived at the liquor store.

"Who are these cowboy assholes?" Catalina asked as the cowboys got off of their vehicles.

"Hang back awhile," CJ told her, "see what's what."

It was clear. The cowboys have robbed the store before CJ and Catalina even had a chance to. They promptly exited out of the store holding briefcases of the cash with them.

"We got the cash!" one of them bragged. "Let's get out of here!"

They hopped on their quads and began to speed away.

 _So much for our own robbery,_ CJ thought. _They beat us to it._

Catalina, however, was too stubborn to let the whole thing slide.

"Those maricon bastards have our money!" she screamed like a whiny teenage girl. "That's my money!"

Catalina promptly shot and killed the last cowboy, knocking his corpse off the quad bike. "Bleed, stupid motherfucker!" she shouted. "Carl, you drive, I'll shoot!"

CJ hopped on the quad bike with Catalina hopping on behind.

"Let's go!" Catalina demanded, and CJ rode the bike to chase after the other three remaining cowboys.

* * *

This was the first time CJ has driven a quad bike, and from the looks of it, he had no idea how to ride it correctly. His steering was slightly too sharp, and the dirt rode on the grassy land was getting bumpier.

"They're making fools of us!" Catalina shouted at CJ.

"What, you think I'm making that happen?" CJ shot back. I've never driven a quad before! I'm going as fast as I can!"

CJ had to be careful not to ride so fast since he still wasn't used to controlling the quad bike, especially when he was riding on a grassy, dirt land. By the time he finally caught up to the cowboys, he was back on the road.

As the cowboys crossed the road to the other side of the land, Catalina leaned forward and began firing at the cowboys.

"Watch my damn head, bitch!" CJ scolded Catalina.

The psychopathic Latina woman just continued firing at the cowboys. When CJ finally got closer to the cowboys, he himself began firing at them himself. He found it more difficult, however, with Catalina still shooting behind him while holding it right besides his head.

"Stop shooting that thing right next to my ear!" CJ chided sounding more irritated. The sounds of the tech nines shooting right besides his ear felt like someone banging on his eardrum with a bunch of bells to him. He felt himself going deaf every time Catalina would continue shooting behind him and started to become somewhat dizzy.

"I'm gonna kill all you stupid pigs!" Catalina shouted as she finally shot one of the cowboys off his quad bike.

As CJ stopped, Catalina hopped off and picked up the briefcase of cash from the ground. She hopped back onto the quad bike with CJ.

"What are you waiting for?!" Catalina shouted at CJ sternly. "We still gotta take those other two assholes!"

* * *

CJ groaned in frustration. Without another word, he reluctantly complied to Catalina's demands and continued riding.

"Your pathetic driving is helping them escape!" Catalina shouted at CJ.

"Hey," CJ shouted back, "I had to stop so you could pick up the fucking cash, remember?!"

"Just shut up and drive!" Catalina told him.

CJ continued riding after the cowboys as they entered a small town called Montgomery. When CJ got closer once again, Catalina leaned over his shoulder and began firing.

"Drink my piss!" she shouted at them.

"I can't hear anything!" CJ complained vociferously. "I'm deaf!"

"Nobody survives Catalina!" Catalina shouted as she finally killed the remaining two cowboys at the same time. "Nobody!"

CJ stopped the quad bike and Catalina picked up the last two briefcases on the ground. She hopped back on the quad bike with CJ and the two drove away.

* * *

"Okay, Carl," Catalina demanded. "Let's get back to the hideout!"

"You a fucking psycho!" CJ told her.

"Are you little men are scared of strong women!" Catalina chastised. "If we're passionate, you say we're crazy! If we're upset, you say we're hysterical! We sleep with men, we're sluts!"

 _Sleeping with different men IS what a slut does, bitch!_ CJ thought.

"If we don't put out, we're frigid bitches!" Catalina continued. She was just being incredibly unreasonable.

Now CJ was used to hanging out with other people who were just as passionate at robbing and killing, but Catalina was just unbelievably intolerable to CJ.

"Who you calling "little men?" CJ asked. "You went berserk back there!"

"That?" Catalina said. "That was just another day at the office! You can't stand the heat, go put your tiny balls in the freezer!"

"Tiny balls?!" CJ asked as they finally made they way up the hill to the hideout in Fern Ridge. "Now just wait a minute..."

"Enough!" Catalina interrupted sternly. "Just shut up and drive! I'm counting the fucking money!"

 _Man, this bitch is a fucking spoiled brat!_ CJ thought. _There's just no reasoning with her!_

* * *

CJ finally made it to the hideout and Catalina hopped off with the briefcases in her hands. She walked into the hideout and tossed the briefcases inside.

"See you soon, handsome!" Catalina told CJ feeling suddenly calm. "Next time, we play REALLY rough!"

CJ had an acute premonition of what she said.

"Yeah, that's cool," CJ replied trying to seem as calm as he can. "But we can also play for some real money! I got some money to...well, it's a long story, but I need some serious paper, fast!"

"You come and see me again soon!" Catalina told him. "We rob a bank!" She walked inside and CJ looked around to see that night has already fallen.

* * *

"I gotta call Ryder," he muttered pulling out his cell phone. "Hopefully, he'll help me out!"

CJ punched in Ryder's number on the cell phone and listened as it rang.

"Come on, Ryder," CJ whispered impatiently. "Pick up, nigga. Pick up!"

But all that came out was Ryder's voice message.

"What's up!?" CJ heard Ryder's voice message say over the phone. "If you callin' this number, I ain't here. So just leave me a message. Peace out, homie!"

"Damn!" CJ muttered as he heard the sound of the beep. "Yo Ryder! Where you at?! I need yo' help, nigga! I'm all the way over at Fern Ridge and I need you to drop by as soon as you can!"

CJ hung up the phone and rode the quad down the small town in Palomino Creek. He rented himself a safe house there and went inside in the bedroom. CJ was feeling exhausted and was too tired to do anything else. So he took off his shoes and lay on the bed.

Everything was already coming back to him. The murder of his mother. The incarceration of Sweet. The betrayal of Big Smoke. The downfall of his old gang. The framing of a former cop's murder. On top of all of this, he was working for a psychopathic woman. All he had by his side were his childhood friend, his new Latino friend, and his sister. There was no telling what would become of them as well. So CJ gradually drifted to sleep, hoping everything would go much better tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7: Against All Odds

CJ woke up the next morning and got dressed in some new clothes. He put on a plain white T-shirt over baggy light blue denim pants and black sneakers. As he walked outside, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

 _Come on, Ryder,_ CJ thought. _You gotta pick up this time._

Unfortunately, Ryder's voice mail went off again, and CJ was becoming impatient. He was about to spend another crime spree with Catalina and he desperately needed his friend's help. As soon as the tone of the phone beeped, CJ became increasingly agitated.

"Why the hell won't you answer this damn phone?!" CJ asked vociferously. "I need yo' help, homie! I got some unstable psycho giving me a bunch of shit! Please, answer me, Ryder!"

As CJ hung up the phone and put it aside, he hopped onto the quad bike and rode up the hill in Fern Ridge right to Catalina's hideout.

* * *

CJ then took a look at the three tombstones on the left side of the hideout.

 _Shit, I hope those aren't three men Catalina killed,_ he thought.

He's only known Catalina for two days and already, he got a terrible experience on what a true psychopath was. Not even Ryder was anywhere near as crazy as Catalina. Heck Catalina actually made Ryder look more sane in comparison. With a huge sigh, CJ walked up to the porch of the hideout.

* * *

"Aye, Catalina!" CJ called as he made his was to the door. "It's Carl! Come on, let's go! We got banks to rob, baby! Come on, let's go!"

"In here, mi amor!" Catalina called back seductively.

CJ really had a bad feeling about this. He was reluctant to step a single foot inside the hideout. There was no telling what Cesar's psycho cousin had in stores for him.

"A'ight!" CJ said as he stepped away from the door.

"You get your sorry ass in here right now, Carl Johnson," Catalina demanded sternly, "or I shove a fucking hand grenade up it!"

CJ sighed annoyingly. _Shit,_ _man, where the fuck is Ryder when you need him?!_ CJ thought.

"A'ight, I'm coming," CJ replied as he stepped inside the hideout begrudgingly.

* * *

"Look, baby!" CJ started. "I really need that pape-"

Just then, he saw Catalina pull out what appeared to be a table. "Oh my God!" CJ cried out. "What in hell's name is that?!"

"This, you fucking prick," Catalina answered, "this is a rack! I'm gonna torture your sorry ass!"

She grabbed CJ by the wrists and reached for the strings.

"No, baby!" CJ pleaded as Catalina began tying him to the rack. "No! Please no!"

"You never write to me!" Catalina chastised. " You don't call! You treat me like a fucking whore! Like one of YOUR whores!"

As she reached for the cracking whip, CJ was now becoming apprehensive and ready to soil himself.

"No, baby, please!" CJ begged again. "I ain't into that shit!"

"I'm gonna fuck you up!"

"Oh, baby, please no!" CJ pleaded once again. "Please, baby, no!"

Before he knew it, Catalina was already whipping him with the whip.

"Ow!" CJ cried out in each whip. "Eh! Ooh! Aw! Ouch! Damn! Oh shit!"

Afterwards, Catalina grabbed him by the shoulder and began to squeeze them constantly.

"Yes!" Catalina cried seductively. "Faster! Harder! Deeper! Oh, yes! Yes! Yes"

CJ gave Catalina one of the most bewildering looks ever. He was just speechless and had no idea how he should even respond to what just happened to him right now. He had just been raped by a psychopathic woman.

 _Motherfucker!_ CJ thought. _I hope this bitch didn't give me no fucking AIDS._

CJ just wanted to forget all about it and decided to change the subject. "Maybe we can go out and rob now?" CJ asked still feeling disturbed to what just happened to him.

* * *

CJ and Catalina were later outside walking to the vehicle.

"How was it?" Catalina asked smiling sensually.

"Different," CJ answered still feeling rather disturbed. He never wanted to bring it up again and did whatever he could to get it off his mind.

"I knew you would like it," Catalina bragged.

"Look, baby," CJ said trying to change the subject. "I thought we was gonna make some serious paper."

"I'm started to get really bored with you," Catalina scolded.

"I just need the money," CJ answered as he made a left turn this time.

"And I'm just a cheap fuck?!" Catalina asked sounding rather agitated. "A whore you don't even pay?!"

"No," CJ told her. "I didn't say that!"

"Carl, I say that I love you, and you act like I'm an idiot!" Catalina told him. "I see the way you look at other women! I know your kind, Carl! I am serious! I will kill you if you ever mess around! I will castrate you first, then I will make you eat them!"

"Enough!" CJ shouted not in the mood with Catalina's attitude. "I need some fucking money!"

"Carl, you are really boring me now!" Catalina told him as they finally made it to a small town called Montgomery.

"Please, sweetheart!" CJ begged. "I got in some real, real deep shit!"

"Okay," Catalina replied sounding more calm this time. "Maybe today, we hit it big!"

* * *

CJ pulled up in front of the betting shop called Inside Track. "You wanna rob a betting shop?" CJ asked as he and Catalina exited the vehicle.

"Yeah," Catalina answered handing CJ a satchel charge. "You not man enough?"

"Satchel charges?!" CJ asked. "Where the hell'd you get them?"

Catalina ignored CJ's question and stepped inside the betting shop armed with a pistol. CJ trailed behind.

"Open the backroom door or I blow your fucking face off!" Catalina demanded holding the owners at gunpoint. "Leave the panic button or I'll kill your children too!"

Just then, the alarm went off. "I warned you, you stupid bitch!" Catalina growled as she shot a patron in front of her. "Stupid fucking bitch! Eat my shit!"

CJ simply placed the satchel charge by the door and stepped far to the corner to his right. He used the remote control and pressed the button, blowing the door open.

"Go!" Catalina demanded. "Get in there and open the safe!"

CJ walked inside and set another satchel charge by the safe. Once again, he went to the same corner and used the remote control to blow the safe open. CJ went back to the safe to collect the money.

"Okay, I got it!" CJ called.

"About fucking time!" Catalina screamed impatiently. "You're a fucking sloth!"

 _Damn,_ CJ thought. _I just got the cash and already, she's rushing me!_

"Whatever," CJ replied as he put all the money inside the bag and got back up his feet. "Let's roll!"

* * *

By the time CJ and Catalina stepped outside, the police were surrounding them.

"Get in the fucking car!" Catalina shouted at CJ as she hopped inside the vehicle.

CJ complied and hopped inside as well. He drove away at high speed to outrun the cops. He cut through the grassy field and made the way back on the road on Red County. The police were still trailing behind.

"Die, idiota pigs!" Catalina shouted shooting at the police car.

CJ just continued speeding straight ahead and made a left turn at the intersection. He made another sharp left turn to a small town called Dillimore and founded a Paint n Spray shop. He went inside and exited it after finishing the job. As he finally backed up on the road, he exited the small town.

* * *

"Get us back to the hideout!" Catalina demanded."Take me home, Carl!"

"Okay," CJ replied driving through the long road. "Look, but we gotta talk about something."

"What?" Catalina asked. "What do I have to say to you?"

"You're a great girl and all," CJ told her, "but you gotta calm down! I know some cold-blooded cats that wouldn't act like you."

"Oh, you get given a lioness and you want a pussycat?" Catalina asked smugly. "Wimp!"

"No!" CJ answered. "I just want..."

"You know why I act like this!" Catalina said as CJ cut through the grassy fields.

"No," CJ told her.

"I am in love, Carl," Catalina answered. "A woman's heart is a tempestuous place, and you will break my heart! Sometimes I want to kill us both!"

"Please don't do that!" CJ warned. "Just relax a little."

* * *

As CJ finished talking, he finally made his way up the hill of Fern Ridge and right back to Catalina's hideout.

"You impressed me, Carl Johnson!" Catalina said as the car pulled up in front of the hideout. "Here's your cut, big man!"

She handed CJ $400 and exited the vehicle. CJ watched as she walked back inside swaying her hips back and forth. She walked inside and used her backside to shut the door. CJ started to look a little horny and finally slapped himself out of it.

 _Come on, Carl,_ he thought. _Don't let that bitch trick you into falling for her._

* * *

CJ drove right back to his safe house and hopped out of the car. He pulled out his cell phone and punched in Ryder's number. He was in desperate need of his friend. He has spent the last two days dealing with Catalina's violence and needed his old friend to back him up. But as the phone rang one too many times, Ryder's voice mail was heard again, and CJ was becoming impatient at this time.

"Seriously, Ryder!" CJ shouted at the cell phone. "Why the fuck ain't you answering this goddamn phone?! You said to call you if I need any help! I need yo' help, homie! Please answer me al-fucking-ready! I'm at the safe house down here in Blueberry! I ain't playing, nigga! Answer me!"

CJ hung up the phone and placed it inside his pocket. He wasn't sure if he could spend another second with Catalina. It was only the morning and he was already getting fed up with Catalina's behavior. So he walked inside the safe house and took a second to think.


	8. Chapter 8: Small Town Bank

"When CJ stepped back outside, he began to get more worried. Ryder still hasn't returned his phone calls, and Catalina was becoming a bigger pain every time he would see her. It was only the afternoon, and already, CJ was exasperated. So he pulled out his cell phone and punched in Ryder's number again.

"Please pick up, Ryder!" CJ yelled as the phone rang.

But unfortunately, for him, after a few rings, Ryder's voice message was heard yet again. CJ was really becoming impatient now

"Dammit, Ryder!" CJ shouted sounding irritated. "Why won't you answer this fucking phone already?! I'm out here working for some crazy bitch and you ain't returning my calls! I need your help already, homie! Answer me!"

CJ hung up the phone and stuffed it back inside his pocket. He was in desperate need of his friend's assistance, and there was no telling what Catalina had planned for him once he saw her again. CJ was now in a quandary. Should he just suck it up and work with Catalina one final time? Or should he just ditch the psychopath and find his own way to earn the money? Right now, he was feeling rather exasperated of what has happened to him since his return to San Andreas after five years and how it has affected his mentality

Just then, he heard his phone ring.

"That's gotta be Ryder!" CJ said feeling somewhat relieved.

With a gleeful look on his face, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and answered it.

"Hello," CJ replied confidently wearing a relieved smile on his face as he expected to hear his friend's voice again.

His smile quickly faded, however, when he heard who was really calling him.

"Why you so cheery?" he heard a virulent-sounding Catalina ask in contempt. "You thought I was one of your cheap whores?!"

 _Oh, so now me sounding so "cheery" means I think you're a whore now, huh?_ CJ thought.

Catalina was just being incredibly unreasonable.

"Baby," CJ told her not wanting to deal with the woman's childish ways, "you gotta chill the fuck out and-"

"I'll chill out when you get here!" Catalina interrupted, yelling so loud CJ once again had to hold the phone in front of his face to avoid Catalina's loud voice penetrating through his eardrum. He was already half-deafened by the gunfire sounds from when Catalina kept on shooting right beside his ear.

"You better hope I don't turn your testicles into kebabs when you do!" the woman continued over the phone.

"Look," CJ started to say, "this ain't no- "

"No more talk!" Catalina interrupted once again. "Get your ass up here, now!"

CJ put his phone aside. He had no other choice. Ryder still wasn't calling him back, and Catalina was threatening to take ominous action on him if he didn't comply to her demands. So he stormed inside his vehicle and drove up the hill of Fern Ridge.

By the time he exited the car and stepped on the porch of the hideout, he saw a sullen Catalina looking holes at him.

"Asshole!" she shouted in CJ's face. She was all of a sudden upset with CJ over something.

"Damn, what'd I do now!" CJ asked feeling very irritated at this point.

"You all the fucking same, eh!" Catalina continued shoving her face near CJ's as the latter took a few steps backwards. "I see it on television. I read it in books. I hear it in music. You all the same. Fuck this, fuck that. Well, fuck you!"

"Baby, I'm sorry.." CJ told her even though he had no idea what he was apologizing for.

"I gave to you, as a woman," Catalina replied. "No! No more!" She stormed inches away from CJ, as if she was getting dumped by her boyfriend. "From now on, we just business partners, okay?" she continued pointing her finger at CJ.

"Eh, if that's how you want it, CJ replied trying to sound as if he really liked the unstable psychopath. "But I mean you're breaking my heart..."

"I'm warning you," Catalina hissed pointing a finger at CJ. "I'm in a really bad fucking mood. Today I kill everybody who fucks with me! Especially you! Move!"

CJ just shook his head and walked towards the nearby vehicle.

"I feel good," Catalina said feeling all of a sudden cheery, something she chastised Carl himself for being earlier. "Like a woman reborn."

 _Motherfucker!_ CJ thought. _Just a few seconds ago, this bitch said she was in a really bad fucking mood! Now she feels good?! What a bipolar bitch!_

"Cool," CJ replied not wanting to get into another argument with Catalina. "Maybe you won't go berserk, huh?"

"Oh I go berserk!" Catalina said as she and CJ entered the car. "But not until I'm really pissed!"

"Oh... well, that's a relief to hear," CJ replied as he made a left turn.

"Perhaps this time no cowboy motherfuckers will get in our way," Catalina said as CJ drove down the hill.

"Amen to that," CJ replied.

"Come on, drive!" Catalina demanded.

"What's wrong?" CJ asked trying his hardest to reason with the woman.

"Nothing," Catalina snapped, "I just hate men."

"Well give me a break," CJ said in a querulous tone of voice.

"Here's your break," Catalina answered in a condescending manner. "Your break is that you're not on my barbecue being eaten!"

 _Ah, so now this crazy bitch is a cannibal now, huh?_ CJ thought wearing a disgusted look on his face.

"Well that's one way of looking at shit, I suppose," he snapped as he finally reached the road.

"Now, try to be a man this time," Catalina told him. "Drive, lover!"

 _I thought this bitch said she didn't love me anymore - just business partners!_ CJ thought. _Make up yo' fucking mind already!_

As CJ continued to drive on the road, coming across a few hairpin turns and under the bridge, the weather was starting to become rather hazy.

"Carl," Catalina told him, "you have to be faster and totally ruthless! No fucking around like in the betting shop!

"What?!" CJ asked remembering very well what really happened there hours ago. "If you hadn't started busting, things would've been sweet!"

"They had to die because you were slow and stupid," Catalina replied, "like a big fat brat that eats chocolate while his father gives nothing to his stepdaughter but stale bread."

 _Who the fuck is this bitch talking about?,_ CJ thought.

"What?" he asked out loud. "Where did that come from?"

"Enough!" Catalina yelled. "I'm not speaking to you anymore!"

CJ was not in the mood to argue with Catalina. He just continued driving and finally reached Palimino Creek, where he spotted the bank. CJ parked in the front and he and Catalina exited the car.

"You're on crowd control so don't take any shit!" Catalina told CJ as she handed him a shotgun while the two walked inside the bank.

"Yes'm, Miss Catalina, Miss!" CJ replied in an obsequious manner. He pointed his pump-action shotgun at the security guard. "Don't even think about doing anything, motherfucker!" he warned.

"Hand over every last dollar, NOW, BITCH!" Catalina demanded the employee.

While Catalina made her way to the safe behind the counter, four employees become hostages, with CJ pointing his shotgun at them.

"I'm going to empty the safe," Catalina told CJ. "Keep these idiot covered!"

"A'ight, you heard the lady!" CJ told the employees. "No heroic shit!"

So CJ pointed the gun at the staff to keep them afraid and under control. But he then noticed that some of them were gradually lowering their arms. CJ started to hesitate. He was just one person, and he couldn't hold them all at gunpoint at once. Before he knew it, one of the members of the staff lowered his arms fully and set off the alarm.

"Oh shit!" CJ shouted shooting the member.

"Shit!" Catalina scolded. "I give you one simple job! Idiota!"

Little did the two bank robbers know, the police were onto them. While two policemen were having doughnuts and coffee at the bakery shop, they heard their radios static.

"Attention all units!" another policeman announced through the radio. "Some psychos are robbing the bank at Palomino Creek!"

"Shit!" one of the policemen at the shop complained. "I just bought another doughnut! Don't criminal have any consideration?"

"We can collect that bribe later" his partner told him. "Might as well go and take a look."

The two dashed out of the shop and hopped into their vehicle. They arrived at the bank just in time to meet the other cops to surround the building. "We know you're in there!" one of the cops announced through the megaphone."The game's up! Come on out! Come out real peaceable, like!"

"Smash the ATMs and get as much cash as possible!" Catalina demanded CJ back inside the bank.

CJ stared at the ATM machines. He remembered how sturdy they were and found it impossible to break into them, even with his weapons. But he had to comply to Catalina's demands. So without another word, he used his shotgun to shoot at the first ATM. It took about twenty shots, but he finally pried it open and collected a stack of cash.

"Give up!" one of the cops warned as he entered the bank. "You're surrounded!"

"Quick!" Catalina told CJ. "We haven't have much time!"

CJ went to the other two ATM machines on the other side of the wall and shot one of them about twenty times. He finally blew it open, collected the wad of cash, and repeated the same process with the final one.

"Better take the back door!" Catalina told CJ as the latter collected the last stack of money. "Follow me!"

Catalina escaped through the door beside the ATM and dashed out. CJ followed her through.

The two of them come across the back alleyway and are immediately attacked by the waiting cops outside. Most of them were dispersed through the alleyway and on the roof of the nearby buildings.

"Cops!" Catalina warned as she and CJ dodged the bullets the cops fired with their weapons. "Take cover!"

"Thought you might try the back way!" one of the cops sneered. "We were waiting for yer!"

Without a word, CJ opened fire on the cops, knocking them down like a bunch of beer bottles in a shooting range. As CJ penetrated through the open alleyway, more cops appeared out of nowhere and began firing back.

"Look out, Carl" Catalina called.

"Give up!" another cop shouted. "You're surrounded!"

CJ effortlessly shot the cops as he and Catalina continued to navigate through the alleyway.

"Cover me!" Catalina shouted. "Pick it up a little, you retarded asshole!"

CJ just continued to shoot the policemen and kept running through the alleyway.

"Keep going!" Catalina demanded

But as the two finally reached the end of the alley, two police officers arrived on bikes and hopped off.

"You two, FREEZE!" one of them demanded as the two attacked CJ and Catalina.

CJ and Catalina shot them both and each hopped on a bike each. "Grab a bike and follow me!" Catalina demanded. "You think you can keep up with real woman?"

As Catalina started to ride away, CJ trailed behind. But before he knew it, two more officers on bikes chased after Catalina as she sped up.

"What's keeping you?!" she called to CJ. "You slow bastard!"

Before CJ knew it, Catalina had jumped off of a broken bridge and made it across. One of the cops had made it across, but the other cop had missed the jump and fell down the river below.

 _Ah shit!_ CJ thought. _This bitch done lost her goddamn mind!_

CJ felt rather nervous himself, but he took a deep breath, maintained his speed, and jumped off the bridge. He shut his eyes tight, expecting to slam into the side of the cliff and fall into the wet river below. To his surprise, however, he landed on the dirt surface and opened his eyes. He had cleared the bridge! He looked ahead to watch Catalina riding distantly away from the lone cop.

"Are you afraid of speed, Carl?" Catalina called distantly. "Stop getting lost!"

CJ just followed head and tried to keep up to her. He avoided the trees and bushes ahead of him. The chase penetrated through the dirt fields as the three zoomed under the highway. The cop had lost his handling and finally slammed into a stone, the impact sending him flying right off of his bike and airing over the highway. By the time Catalina had made it to Montgomery, a ranger crashes into her, and several cops surround her.

 _Shit!_ CJ thought. _Now I gotta rescue this bitch!_

As CJ arrived to join the conflict, he pulled out his tech nine and started firing. Catalina came to CJ's side and hopped onto the bike with CJ.

"Take me home, big man!" Catalina demanded as CJ rode away, losing the cops.

"How we do?" CJ asked.

"Is that all you care about?" Catalina asked. "Money?"

"No," CJ answered as he made it up the hill, "but I really need the paper- "

"You revolt me!" Catalina hissed at CJ. "You make my skin crawl!"

"Well I ain't crazy about you either!" CJ shot back confidently.

"Well that's just it!" Catalina snarled as CJ made it closer to Catalina's hideout. "How little you know! Don't talk! Let us enjoy the peace and quiet! Come on, Carl! Move it!"

CJ made it to the hideout and came to a complete stop. Catalina hopped off the bike

"There you go!" Catalina said handing CJ the money

"Thanks!" CJ replied.

"One day, Carl Johnson," Catalina said to Carl, "you will realize." Catalina closed her eyes and crossed her heart. "She, she truly loved me," she said imitating CJ, "and your heart will break into two. But you are more like the spiny lizard than a man. Goodbye!"

 _Goddamn, bitch!_ CJ thought. _Do you love me or not?! Make up yo' fucking mind already!_

Catalina walked to the hideout swaying her hips back and forth. She opened the door and walked inside, slamming the door shut behind her. CJ sighed in relief

"Finally, that bitch is out of my ass!" he said under his breath. He rode the bike down the hill and made it back to his safe house back in Blueberry.


	9. Chapter 9: Wu Zi Mu

CJ hopped off the bike and pressed against the trailer wall as if he was trying to push it. He could not believe what he had gotten himself into. It was only still the afternoon and already, Catalina had given him a really rough time. She has held him by gunpoint, made him comply to her every demands as if he was a dog, gotten raped by her, and had to deal with her mood swings constantly. He has dealt with woman in the past, considering he had his mother and Kendl, as well as growing up around Lisa, but Catalina was a lot more than he could handle. CJ has never lost any patience and resistance with anyone like Catalina. CJ could not believe Cesar could be related to her. He wondered how Cesar even put up with her psycho ways.

* * *

"Hey, CJ!" he heard a voice from behind, as well as a car's engine running. CJ didn't turn around though. He knew who it was by listening to the voice. It was Ryder.

CJ was so upset that he didn't even bother to turn around. Ryder walked up to CJ. "I just got yo' messages and you said you be here!" Ryder told him.

Before he could say another word, CJ turned around suddenly sullen, violently grabbed Ryder by the collar and shoved him against his car.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, nigga?!" CJ growled at Ryder pinning him against the vehicle. "I've been trying to call yo' ass all day!"

Ryder shoved CJ off him so hard that CJ fell to the ground. "Nigga, you better back off me!" Ryder snapped. "The fuck is wrong with you putting yo' hands on me? You want me to lock you in another headlock, motherfucker?!"

"Where you been, man?!" CJ asked trying to change the subject.

"I been working with LB back at San Fierro," Ryder answered. "He gave me a lucrative job at chasing Smoke's lieutenants riding across the county before they deliver them to that fat motherfucker."

"Ah," CJ complained. "So you were working with LB while I was busting my ass with Cesar's crazy ass cousin just to get some fucking money!"

"Whatchu talkin' about, nigga?" Ryder asked.

"Cesar hooked me up with his crazy ass cousin just the other day!" CJ answered. "Her name is Catalina, and she's a crazy bitch!"

"So you just gonna let that bitch make a bitch out of you?" Ryder asked."Man, I thought you were tougher than that, CJ!"

"You don't understand, Ryder!" CJ told him. "Catalina is crazy! That bitch actually tried to rape me! She's also a cannibal! She actually threatened to make me one of the men in her barbecue!"

"Whatever, man," Ryder said feeling uninterested to listen to CJ's story. "I don't need to hear about some bitch I ain't heard of! Just get in the car, nigga!"

* * *

So CJ followed Ryder to the car and the two hopped in. Just then, CJ's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it.

"Hello," CJ answered.

"Hey, holmes," he heard Cesar answer over the phone. CJ couldn't be any more relieved to hear Cesar's voice again. "I'm busy."

"Cesar!" CJ replied. "Whasup?!"

"I can smell nitrous oxide from a mile off," Cesar said. "Racing, my friend! Not beautiful cars, but fast, man, fast!"

"What are you talking about?" CJ asked.

"Street racers, from San Fierro," Cesar answered. "They meet out here to tear up the black top! No chota, no chota choppers. You wanna make some money?"

"Does the pope shit in the woods?" CJ asked facetiously.

"Why you keep asking me that, holmes?" Cesar asked. "I told you. I don't know. Where his holiness does his business, is his business. Just get a fast car and meet me and Kendl just south of Montgomery. See you, man." CJ hung up the phone and stored in in his pocket.

* * *

"Who was that?" Ryder asked.

"That was Cesar," CJ told him. "He said a race by Montgomery is about to happen. We need a fast car."

"Fuck that!" Ryder told him. "This car is already fast enough!"

So Ryder started the car and rode it to Red County just south of Montgomery. There, the racers were hanging at the fields, and playing on the radio was Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.

"Man, I fucking hate that song!" CJ complained covering his ears. "I'm tired of listening to this grunge bullshit! That shit is even worse than that shitty hair metal they played back in the 80s!"

"Seriously, CJ," Ryder groaned, "you complain about everything!"

"I just hate that grunge music, alright?" CJ shot back. "I want some of that gangster shit!"

Just then, a black and blue racecar pulled over besides the two. CJ looked to see an African-American man wearing a blue and green plaid beanie hat, an aquamarine long-sleeve shirt, and baggy brown cargo pants hop out of the car.

"Jeah," Ryder said as he walked up to the guy to give him a handshake. "My man LB!"

"What's up, Ryder?" LB replied. "I heard there was a race over here and I'd figure you guys would be over here. So I provided you with the fastest ride for y'all to win the race in."

"Hell yeah!" CJ replied. "Oh, and the name's Carl Johnson by the way."

LB walked over to CJ to give him a handshake. "I know. What's up with you, CJ?" LB answered.

"Nothing much," CJ replied. "Just out here to make some real money."

"You Sweet's bro, huh?" LB asked.

"Yeah," CJ answered.

"Well your brother and Ryder here did some jobs with me last year and I helped them defend their gang from C.R.A.S.H.," LB told CJ. "Me and Ryder go way back."

"Well that's cool, man," CJ said. "Maybe you'll be able to help us out today then."

"I told you, my nigga," Ryder replied. "My homie LB here is like a clockwork ninja!"

* * *

CJ looked around once again. "Man, where the hell is Cesar?" he asked. "He said he'd be here."

Just then, CJ saw Cesar walking up ahead.

"Yo, CJ," LB told him. "I think that's yo' chico over there."

Cesar approached the trio and turned to Ryder. "Ryder," Cesar greeted giving Ryder some dap, "que pasa?"

"What's crackin' with you, Ces?" Ryder greeted back. "That's my homie LB right here."

"What's up, holmes?" Cesar greeted giving LB a handshake.

"Nothin' much, ese," LB told him. "What's up with you?"

"Fresh out of Angel Pine, holmes," Cesar replied. He turned to CJ, who stared at him questionably.

"'Sup, man?" CJ asked Cesar. "I've been waiting forever, man. Where the hell you been"

"Sorry, holmes," Cesar protested. "I had no idea when the race would be"

"Riiight - you just happened to show up five minutes after everybody else, huh?" CJ replied sarcastically.

"When the gasoline runs through your veins like the burning passion, you know when it's time to race!" Cesar replied.

"I think you're getting high on that country air, man!" CJ told him.

"Speaking of high, me and LB gonna warm the car up for you, CJ," Ryder chimed in as he and LB walked over to the car. "We gonna let you drive in this race, CJ," LB called as he and Ryder entered the car. "We ready when you are."

* * *

Just then, a Chinese man dressed in black wearing a pair of square shades arrived. Beside him were another man dressed in black and a woman.

"Hey CJ, look..." Cesar told CJ pointing at the Chinese man.

"You haven't been to one of our meets before," the Chinese man told CJ. "Where you from friend?" "I'm from Grove Street Families, Los Santos," CJ answered. "What's happening"

"Relax" the Chinese man replied calmly. "This isn't a parade, pal. But, you know, we gotta be careful." He held out his hand to shake. "Wu Zi Mu, but my friend call me 'Woozie'. How you doing?"

CJ didn't bother to return the gesture, as he stared at the man strangely.

"Wha..?" he started to answer. But he felt that questioning the man wasn't worth it. So he decided to just greet himself as well.

"CJ," he finally answered still ignoring the man's gesture. "Carl Johnson."

Woozie finally lowered his hand to his side. "Listen," he started to say, "out here we like to race for cash or pink slips - racer's choice. Get your car started, we're about to go. Good luck, Carl Johnson."

CJ watched perplexed as Woozie walked away along with his allies.

"There's something real strange about that dude, man" CJ told Cesar.

"Be careful, CJ!" Cesar warned.

"For sure, man," CJ said as he walked away.

* * *

"Get in, motherfucker!" Ryder called from inside the car.

CJ hopped inside the running car and pulled up besides the others at the starting line.

"Now listen up, fool," Ryder told CJ sternly. "Just because this is a race doesn't mean you get to drive recklessly! We still gotta survive in order to win! So you betta win this one without driving the car off the cliff and into the river! Don't fuck this one up!"

"Yeah, yeah," CJ muttered sounding rather annoyed.

He has heard enough of Ryder's rude remarks of his driving. But he decided to deal with it anyway and focused on trying to win the race. He turned up the radio to hear House of Pain's "Jump Around" playing. The song just started as the race finally began.

The drivers began picking up speed. "Faster, CJ!" LB told him. "Don't let them punk-ass racers beat up, nigga!"

CJ drove as fast as he could. He zipped past the drivers and dashed through the dirt surface. He started to lose control of the vehicle and nearly hit the guard rail to his left.

"Slow down, motherfucker!" Ryder chastised. "You almost ran us off a cliff!"

"Sorry about that," CJ replied. He continued to drive and crossed the intersection of Fern Ridge. He then crossed through Red County and drove through the road of Blueberry.

"Pick up the pace, CJ!" LB shouted. "We got company!"

CJ checked the rear-view mirror to find a familiar car behind him. _Could that be that Woozie guy?_ he thought. CJ continued to drive through the small town as the car gradually began to close in. The two cars were now neck-to-neck as they drove through Blueberry Acres. CJ took a look at the driver next to him. It was Woozie!

* * *

 _He pretty good for an Asian dude,_ CJ thought.

The two drivers each picked up speed as they tried to get ahead of each other.

"Quickly, but carefully, fool!" Ryder told CJ. "This is a race, not a motherfucking demolition derby!"

The two cars continued to drive through a farm and right back on the forest called The Panopticon. As the two cars drove around the forest, CJ finally sped down the hill, leaving Woozie behind as he managed to make it down the road.

"Keep it up, Carl!" LB told him. "I think you lost the motherfucker!"

CJ continued driving and raced back up the hill.

"There go the finish line!" Ryder announced as the car made it closer to the start of the race. "Finish this shit, motherfucker!"

So CJ sped up and made a victorious cheer as he crossed the finish line.

"JEAH!" Ryder cheered in victory. "We showed them motherfuckers how we do it Grove Street style!"

"Hell yeah!" CJ replied bumping fists with Ryder. He, Ryder, and LB hopped out of the car.

"That's how the OG's race!" LB chimed in.

* * *

"Oooh, yeah!" CJ cried out making a victory wave.

He turned to see Woozie arriving in his car just inches away and parking next to him. Woozie hopped out of the car and approached CJ slowly.

"You drive with style, Carl Johnson," Woozie told him dispassionately, "and I never mind losing to a guy who's willing to push himself right to the edge."

"Well admittedly, I wouldn't have done it without the help of my homies there," CJ said pointing at Ryder and LB. "They tagged along."

"Well, as for me, I'm a man who honors his bet," Woozie said giving CJ an envelope of cash. CJ stared at the envelope and turned to Woozie.

"Well, you learn pretty fast with the police on your ass!" CJ told him.

"Listen, it's best if we clear the hell out of here as soon as possible because, for some reason, the local police don't appreciate our noble sport," Woozie warned him.

"Yeah," CJ replied. "Thanks for the advice."

"OK, I gotta go," Woozie said as he pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to CJ. "Uh, you know what? If you ever find yourself in San Fierro, give me a call, maybe we can do a little business together."

"Yeah, I might just do that," CJ replied. Just then, police sirens began to sound.

"Get in, CJ!" Ryder called as he and LB hopped inside the car. "One-time at 1:00!"

"Well, I guess that's our wake up call," Woozie announced as he and his girl walked to their car. "Nice meeting you."

The two hopped in the car and drove away.

"Whatchu waiting on, nigga?!" LB called to CJ as the sirens got louder."Get in!"

CJ hopped inside the car and sped downhill.

"Try not to slam into a tree, fool!" Ryder told him. CJ just smiled. He was glad to have his childhood friend by his side. He continued speeding away through the forest.


	10. Chapter 10: Farewell, My Love

CJ rode as quickly as he could, avoiding every tree around the forest and finally making his way on the road of Blueberry.

"Yo CJ," LB told him. "That shit was tight!"

"Jeah," Ryder added. "You didn't crash the car for once."

"Yeah, the race was real smooth," CJ replied. "Where y'all want me to drop y'all off at?"

"Just pull over," Ryder told him. "LB and I are gonna roll out and see if we can find any more of Smoke's lieutenants riding bikes through the country."

CJ complied and Ryder and LB hopped out.

"What the hell y'all gonna ride?" CJ asked.

"We got our ways to transport, fool," LB told him. "We got this."

"Peace out, CJ," Ryder said as he and LB walked away.

* * *

CJ continued to ride away. Suddenly he heard his pager beep. As he stopped to a red light, he pulled out his pager and saw a message.

"Another race?" CJ asked. "Damn, this afternoon has been sweet."

CJ drove through the town and up the hill. The sun was shining brightly, and the air was fresh and clear. It was barely the afternoon and it was feeling very nice outside. He finally made his way to The Panopticon, in which the other racers were preparing in.

* * *

"Hey, CJ!" one of the racers called to him. "I got a ride for you for you!"

CJ looked to see that the racer was offering him a blue ZR-350.

"Oh yeah!" CJ said. "You hooked it up real good!"

"Yep!" the racer replied. "Good luck in the race, bruh."

CJ leaned against the car, waiting for all the racers to get started. He was real pumped to participate in the next race. He then looked back to see a tall, Caucasian brunette guy wearing a black jacket over green cargo pants checking the hood of his vehicle. He looked about CJ's age.

Just then, another car pulled up from behind the man, and the driver was revealed to be Catalina, who hopped out of the car and gave the man a kiss on the cheek. CJ then turned around to see Catalina approaching him while wielding a crowbar. She didn't look pleased at all.

 **"** Damn, man, now what?" CJ asked sounding annoyed as Catalina approached him.

 **"** PIG!" the psychopathic Latina woman shouted in CJ's face.

 **"** What?" CJ cried out sternly. "What'd I do now?"

 **"** Oh, so THIS is where you been, eh?" Catalina said motioning to CJ's ZR-350. "THIS is how you repay my tenderness! You prefer the curves of some car to those of a real woman?" She posed like a supermodel to show off her hips.

 _Pffffft!_ CJ thought. _You have about as much curves as a tree stump._

 **"** Look Catalina, you called it off!" CJ replied. "Remember, "just business"?" He used air quotes for the last two words.

 **"** What kind of a man are you?!" Catalina snarled. "When I say "just business", I mean that I love you!" She furiously smashed the crowbar against CJ's vehicle.

"What the fuck?!" CJ shouted barely dodging the crowbar when it hit one of the headlights.

"When I say, I no interested no more, I mean that I long for you!" Catalina continued shouted still slamming the crowbar against the vehicle. "And when I say I missed you..!"

Enough was enough for CJ! He wasn't going to let some psychopath treat him like dirt, and he surely wasn't going to let her push him around just because she was female. It was finally time for CJ to do exactly what he should've done the first time he met her.

"Get the fuck away from my car, crazy ass bitch!" CJ snapped as he violently shoved Catalina away from his vehicle. "Leave my car alone! Now I want you to listen up, bitch! I ain't going to let you treat me like this! Perhaps you don't know me very well! Even though I ain't no violent dude, I bust a cap in anyone who gets on my bad side! That includes women too! As chivalrous as I am towards them, there's only so much of their bullshit I can tolerate before they finally push me over the edge! Do you know what happens to people who fuck with me?! Do you know who the fuck you talking to?! I'm a stone-cold gangster from Grove Street that don't take shit from nobody, especially crazy bitches like you! If you ever in yo' fucking life treat me the way you've been treating me ever again, I'ma rip a hole through yo' tits! I'ma pistol whip yo' bitch ass silly! I'ma hang yo' ass by your own lingerie! Hell, you lucky my homie Ryder ain't around, because believe me, he would've fucked you up a long time ago! That motherfucker is crazy! And I bet you my life-savings you'd be dead in a heartbeat if he would've seen what you've been doing! So go ahead, bitch! Do somethin'! I dare you! Go ahead and make yo' fucking move and see what happens, bitch!"

CJ just stared at Catalina, looking far more confident than usual. He no longer cared what Catalina was going to do to him after his tirade, and he no longer felt apprehensive in the slightest. He was prepared for Catalina to attack him. But to his surprise, Catalina was visibly shocked, and instead, she just stared at him and finally heaved her crowbar to the ground.

"Fine!" she finally shouted changing her expression to a grim look. "Who needs you anyway?! You clearly can't handle strong women like me! I already found a lover myself anyway!"

"Excuse me?! Then what the fuck was this about?!" CJ shouted angrily.

"I cannot keep my passion holed up, they need a release!" Catalina replied as she motioned towards the tall man standing by his vehicle.

"That was a good release, like hitting a man with a frying pan while he sleeps!" Catalina continued showing CJ her new man. Her grin grew wider. "This, CARL, THIS is my new man. Are you jealous? Are you going to fight for me?"

 _This bitch is desperate now!_ CJ thought. _First she says she doesn't love me, now she's trying to make me envy her at a pathetic attempt to make me love her again._

"Pffftt!" CJ responded. "You can have him. I'd rather be single than try to win the heart of some crazy, bipolar bitch like you any day!"

It was now difficult for CJ to take Catalina seriously at this point. Even if she wasn't related to Cesar, killing her still wouldn't be worth it to him.

Catalina's grin then faded. Instead of looking upset, she looked mostly desperate. "You are jealous and a coward!" Catalina shouted sounding delusional. "Now let's race!"

She hopped inside the passenger seat of the tall, Caucasian man's car, with the man as the driver.

 **"** Crazy bitch," CJ muttered as he hopped into his own vehicle.

It was all clear to CJ. None of this was about him. It was mostly about her. Catalina had finally lost it. She wanted all the attention to herself, and what better way to do that than to get CJ to battle for her heart? CJ, of course, wasn't buying into Catalina's implicit pleas though. He just hopped inside his vehicle and pulled up to the starting line with the other racers.

* * *

As the race began, CJ made his way through the other four vehicles and dashed through the dirt road. He made his way on the open road and drove in a straight line. He cut the corners through the hairpin turns and zipped down the bottom of the mountain. Turning to the slope of the mountainside uphill, he left the other racers behind and rode around the forest.

By the time CJ made it to the bottom, he drove in a straight line and made his way to Blueberry Acres. He dashed around the barn and made his way on the open road. He drove straight and made a right turn on the next street. Then he made a left turn and dashed through the lands, across the bridges, on the dirt road beside the river, and finally through Red County.

CJ was feeling confident so far. That was, until he saw a familiar looking vehicle pulling up next to him. It was the tall, brunette guy closing in on him! The car pulled up to CJ's left, revealing Catalina staring back at him!

"My lover's a better racer than you, Carl!" she screamed at CJ. "Give it up! You can't win my heart against him!"

The driver dashed past CJ and inched a few feet in front of him. CJ didn't hesitate as he just simply drove faster.

"Drive faster, lover!" he heard Catalina shout to her man. "That piece of shit is cheating!"

CJ ignored Catalina's taunting and closed in to the driver. He got closer until he and the other driver were now neck-to-neck as they each maintained their speed.

"You were always a lousy lover, Carl!" Catalina shrieked. "I let my lover fuck me in my butt! A guy like you wouldn't last one day in the bed with me!"

CJ didn't bother looking back at the vociferous Latina woman. He refused to let her get inside his head. He continued picking up the pace as he accelerated, with the other driver speeding by his side.

"You know you still love me, Carl!" Catalina shouted. "You know you want to sniff my panties and fuck me in my ass! You want a taste of my cunt! Admit it, Carl! You are just jealous!"

But Catalina's taunting had only motivated CJ rather than distract him. With one deep sigh, he zipped past the driver and made his way up the hill of the Panopticon. He crossed the finish line and stomped on the brakes with enough force to park his vehicle to its side. Catalina and the man, as well as the other racers, also came up from behind.

* * *

CJ exited his vehicle and stepped out looking proud. Catalina stormed out of the vehicle and stomped towards CJ.

 **"** You had the unfair advantage!" Catalina shouted sounding like a whiny teenage girl.

 **"** Being a better driver ain't no unfair advantage!" CJ shot back looking rather stoic.

 **"** You think you're clever, but it is you who is missing the point!" Catalina said desperately trying to prevail in the argument. "Not only he was racing, but he was satisfying me, fully! What are you gonna say about that?"

CJ stared back at the tall man, who seemed rather taciturn.

 **"** The advantage of a stick shift, I guess," CJ replied dryly. "Yeah whatever, anyway, man, what is it, cash or pink slip?"

Catalina pulled out a deed from her back pocket.

 **"** There you go!" she said placing the deed in CJ's hand. "Goodbye Mr. Johnson, I will NOT be missing you!"

She began to walk away.

 **"** Hey, wait a minute, bitch!" CJ called back to her. "What is this shit?!"

 **"** The deed to a garage in San Fierro," Catalina replied. "My lover needs his car so we can go to Liberty City."

 **"** Liberty City?" CJ asked. "Yeah, whatever, have a good time."

CJ began to walk away.

 **"** I will" Catalina shouted at him.

CJ just continued walking, not looking back to say anything else to the crazy Latina.

"GOODBYE!" Catalina shouted again. CJ still ignored her.

"I will not ever love you again!" Catalina shouted as she hopped inside the car with the tall man. CJ refused to turn around.

"You will regret everything you've said to me, Carl Johnson!" Catalina shouted through the window as the car sped away.

CJ let out a deep sigh of relief.

 _Finally, that bitch is out of my skin for good!_ CJ thought. _I hope I never meet another crazy lady like her!_

Without another word, he hopped inside his vehicle and drove down the mountain.

"I'm a free fucking man!" he shouted as he drove on the open road.

Catalina was finally out of his life for good! He no longer had to deal with her anymore. Now all he had to do was focus on what he would do in San Fierro. He continued driving on the open road as the cool air swept across his face as the vehicle accelerated.


	11. Chapter 11: Are You Going To San Fierro?

The hours had elapsed, and CJ had his car parked deep in the forest next to the river. He watched the beautiful sunset across the river, its lights reflecting the rippling water underneath. The air was cool and serene. It felt good for CJ to be on his own for a long while. He figured he'd stick around the Badlands for a while before he decided to go to San Fierro.

It has been hours since Catalina had left to Liberty City with her new man. and CJ was glad he no longer had to deal with her nonsense ever again. He hoped he never would come across a girl - or anyone else for that matter - like her ever again. It was still very hard for him to believe she was relate to Cesar though.

 _Damn, Cesar!_ he thought. _How the hell did you ever put up with that crazy bitch?!_

Just then, he heard his cell phone ring. CJ pulled the phone out of his pocket to answer it.

"Hello," CJ answered.

"Yo CJ," It was Ryder. "What's crackin', homie?"

"Ryder!" CJ answered so ecstatic to hear his friend's voice away. "What's happenin' with you?"

"Smoke's yay, homie!" Ryder answered. "Yo peep this. My homie LB told me every Mondays and Fridays, the cash leaves Los Santos for San Fierro, and on Wednesday and Saturday, the courier delivers the yay back to Smoke's fat ass!"

"Cool, homie," CJ replied. "You want me to keep an eye on them?"

"I got this, CJ," Ryder answered. "Smoke's lieutenants can't escape me! I'll handle this while you just do whatever."

"Thanks, homie," CJ told him. "And just to remind you, we got a garage over in San Fierro. So just drop by over there to find me and the rest."

"A'ight," Ryder replied. "Later, homie."

CJ set his phone aside. He felt satisfied that he had help from his friend. He didn't have to do too much work, and he was giving every chance he could take. It was a relief for him. The guy who had criticized CJ ever since the latter's return had still stuck by his side, whereas the friend he was much closer to was the one who stabbed him in the bad instead.

Then it all came back to CJ once again. He was still upset of Big Smoke's betrayal. He reminisced all the good times he and Big Smoke had with each other. About how he saw Smoke as a father figure. About how Smoke was like family to him along with Ryder and his two siblings, as well as the rest of the gang. Just the thought of Big Smoke betraying him broke his heart. It was taking him a while to get over it.

He had just about eradicated his friend's betrayal out of his mind when he heard his cell phone ring once again. CJ pulled it out of his pocket to answer it.

"What's happenin'?" he answered.

"Hey, Carl," he heard The Truth say over the phone. "Dude. Now, I got that little mwah mwah you were after! But be careful man. People are listening to us. I got a little green village up in the hills! Come and get it! Whoa man! I don't know you! I don't know you! Prank caller! Prank caller!"

As Truth hung up, Carl set his phone aside and sighed. He wasn't sure what the eccentric old man had in stores for him this time. So he hopped inside his vehicle and drove through the forest.

* * *

As he drove through Leafy Hollow in Flint County, he spotted a familiar-looking farm with a shed. CJ put his car in park and hopped out as he made his way to the trunk of the car. He opened it and pulled out the suitcase of money he saved. The sun had just set, and it was almost dark outside. Without any hesitation, he made his way to the shed. Inside, he spotted Truth standing on his head meditating, capriciously spreading his legs as well.

 _Man, what a weird ass elderly dude,_ CJ thought.

"Peace," Truth said as CJ entered the shed. "I've got everything you need, lone traveler. It's in the Mothership, back there."

With his right leg, he pointed to a hippie van right behind him.

"Thanks, man," CJ told the old man handing him the briefcase. "Look, here go your paper."

"The karmic circle closes," Truth answered hopping back onto his feet. "All is as it should be - back to the egg."

CJ entered the van as Truth continued to hum. As he took a quick look, he quickly hopped out.

"Damn, man," CJ said approaching Truth. "There must be two tons of that stuff back there."

"Threeeeeeeeee," Truth said as he made an awkward pose as he meditated. "Ramayanaaaaaaaa..."

He then stop to listen to a familiar sound outside. Something whirling with heavy wind.

"What the fuck's that noise?" he asked.

"Hey, that sounds like a chopper," CJ answered.

"Oh man, narcs!" Truth said. "You fucking rat!"

"Dude, don't put this on me!" CJ protested. "You the one that deals with Tenpenny."

Truth didn't reply. He crouched under his van and pulled out two flamethrowers. He tossed one to CJ's arms.

"What's all this?" CJ asked.

"Calm, brother," Truth told CJ calmly as he hopped onto his feet armed with the other flamethrower. "Panic paves the way to bad karma."

"Man...," CJ muttered as he and Truth exited the shed.

"We gotta torch those fields," Truth demanded. "I only hope Gaia can forgive us!"

CJ wasted no time as he races to the field and aimed the flamethrower to the weed in the field. One by one, he burned each of them at a time as the distant chopper in the sky began to close in. Soon, CJ was feeling rather lightheaded and wobbly.

"Assholes!" Truth shouted. "Right-winged assholes!"

"I don't feel too good," CJ moaned.

"It's a cryin' shame, ain't it?" Truth called to CJ.

"No," CJ answered. "I mean I think I'm gonna black out!"

"Fight the ocean and you will drown, brother!" Truth replied vociferously.

 _Oh I'm fucking drowning alright!_ CJ thought.

"Carl, man, we'll take the Mothership and get our shit out of here!" Truth called.

"Go get her fired up!" CJ demanded. "I'll finish burning and I'll follow you!"

So CJ continued burning the weed in the farm despite feeling woozy from the weed he was burning combined with the cloud of smoke that permeated around him as he continued to perform the task. Everything looked hazy around him. The ground was becoming shaky. He saw a turbulent blur. He was becoming stoned.

 _Shit!_ CJ thought. _Now I know how Ryder feels._

As CJ finished burning the fourth batch of weed, he tried to find his way to the second part, only to stumble a little while walking. The hazy smoke has stoned him out. Everything was blurring around him. CJ finally made his way to the plants and finished burning them.

By the time he finished, the chopper was closing in. CJ barely made his way to the hippie van, where Truth was already in, and handed him back the flamethrower. His vision had just cleared up a little.

"We got a chopper on our tail," CJ announced. "We'll never shake 'em now!"

"Hold on!" Truth told him. "I got a little something back here I was saving for a rainy day!"

So CJ headed to the trunk of the van and peered inside.

"Holy motherfucker!" CJ cried out as he spotted a rocket launcher in the trunk. "Where'd you get that?!"

"Found it in a bail of Thai Sticks!" Truth answered. "Shame really. I was going to make it into a lamp!"

CJ took out the weapon and headed over to the hovering chopper up above. Even though he was decent with guns, CJ had never used a rocket launcher before. At first, he was hesitant, worrying about his aim being off and he might hit something or someone else accidentally. But he quickly regained his confidence and took a firm aim at the chopper. It was moving around in multiple directions, and CJ was having a hard time getting his aim into place. So he took a few steps back, kept the rocket launcher firmly aimed at the hovering chopper, and pulled the trigger.

CJ watched as the rocket bullet skyrocketed to the chopper and slam into it with a direct hit. He ran away as the burning chopper plunged down the ground. As it hit the surface, it made a loud explosion as it crashed into the farm. CJ watched as smoke permeated around the destroyed chopper.

As CJ watched the smoke clear out, he headed to the van to see The Truth. He hopped in the driver's seat and spotted Truth sitting in the passenger's seat.

"Whatchu pull over fo'?" CJ asked as he drove uphill.

"You better drive," Truth answered. "I haven't driven in 15 years!"

"You was doing alright!" CJ declared as he drove on the road.

"Yeah, then the fear hit me!" Truth replied. "Now I'm rolling the number to calm the waves!"

"Shit!" CJ said pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "I better call Cesar!"

While driving, he punched in Cesar's number and held the phone to his ear. It rang twice right before Cesar answered it.

"Yeah!" Cesar answered.

"Hey Cesar!" CJ called. No time to talk, man! I'm on my way to San Fierro, OK! I'll meet you and Kendl at the garage I won at the races! Holla at y'all later!"

"Cool!" Cesar answered. "I'll meet you there, holmes!"

CJ set his phone aside and came to a hairpin turn. He rode down the hill and came across a bridge over the river.

"Hey, this thing go any faster?!" CJ asked.

"Man, we got three tons of grass on board," Truth answered, "the engine block is held together with a macrame hammock, and it's running on 15-year-old cooking oil!"

"Shit!" CJ replied. "Can you shoot?!"

"Shoot?" Truth asked. "I'm a hippy! The only thing I've shot is acid! I heard about this dude who snorted it once. Thought his nose was a kangaroo and the moon was a dog. Whooo!"

"What's with all the aluminum foil, man?" CJ asked looking around the van.

"Protection from mind control, dude," Truth answered.

"Mind control?" CJ asked.

"Induction of images, sound or emotion using microwave radiation," Truth told him. "Do you know how many government satellites are watching any citizen at any moment?"

"No," CJ answered.

"Twenty-three," Truth replied. "Do you know how many religious relics are kept at the Pentagon?"

"No, I don't," CJ answered as he drove through the bridge and through the mountains.

"Twenty-three," Truth told him once again holding an unusual type of drug. "You see a pattern emerging here, man?"

"Man," CJ complained squeezing his eyes so the smoke didn't get into his eyes, "I'm seeing patters all over the place! Get that smoke outta my face!"

"Hey, you want a hit on this?" Truth told CJ offering him the drug. "A little Temple Charas in a cocktail with some Nepalese munga munga!"

"Put that thing out man!" CJ cried out. "I can't see!"

"Hey, mellow out, brother," Truth said. "It's good shit."

"Put it out, motherfucker!" CJ snapped sounding very irritated at the moment. "I'm warning you!"

"Whoa, chill the fuck out," Truth replied. "Firstly, you are a real buzz killer, amigo, and secondly, I never made love to my mother. She wouldn't, and thirdly, we're in this together, so be cool!"

"Sorry, man," CJ said as he finally made his way to the highway. "I just don't drive when I'm faded. You know, you remind me of Ryder."

"Really?" Truth asked. "He a friend of yours?"

"Yeah," CJ replied driving down the exit of the highway, "though he uses the term "friend" loosely. You'll meet him when we arrive at the garage."

"Seem like a wild fella," Truth said.

CJ just chuckled silently. Truth was already stoned at this point. In fact, he was making Ryder look like a civilized human being.

"Whooo!" Truth cried out as CJ drove in the streets of San Fierro. "There she is, brother; San Fierro: the City of Psychedelic Wonders!"

CJ looked around to see the flashing lights ignite the city in the dark sky. The street were replete with cars and traffic lights. CJ was amazed at how the city looked compared to his own hometown.

"Man, I can't believe I haven't been here before," CJ said as he drove through some train tracks.

"There ain't a better place to escape the man, man," Truth replied.

"Okay, Mr. San Fierro," CJ ordered, "where the spot at?"

"It's in the Doherty on the East side of Fierro," Truth answered, "between Garcia and Easter Basin."

"Jesus, we're screwed!" CJ said. "When'd you get this?"

"1967," Truth answered looking rather reminiscent.

 _1967?_ CJ thought. _Damn, this van is twenty-five years old!_

"How'd you get around here if you don't drive?" CJ asked sounding suspicious.

"I have an astral goat called Herbie," Truth told him. "She's faster than most, but gettin' old..."

"Yeah, whatever, man," CJ answered in a dubious tone of voice. "You talking shit."

* * *

CJ drove through the road of Easter Basin across the road from the Cranberry Station. He spotted the gas station to his left and the garage there as well. He parked the van in front of the garage and hopped out along with Truth.

"This is the place," Truth announced as he and CJ walked around the abandoned gas station outside. "Whoa, Jesus dude! Looks like you've been fed a bummer."

CJ turned around to see Cesar's car pulling up on the driveway in his red Savanna with Kendl in the passenger seat. CJ just stared back and smiled as Cesar parked over to the side.

"Ces, my man," CJ said chuckling as he gave Cesar a high five. "I knew you'd come through."

"I told you I got your back, holmes," Cesar answered as he and Kendl hopped out of the car.

"Great to see you again, Carl," Kendl said giving CJ a hug.

"Anytime, sis," Carl replied.

"How'd you get here?" Cesar asked CJ.

"I had a little help with this old man here," CJ replied pointing to The Truth. "Believe me when I tell you it was a rather...interesting conversation I had with this dude."

"I see," Cesar said. He looked around firmly. "So what is this place, holmes?"

"Some garage your cousin hooked me up with," CJ said. He pulled the deed out of his pocket. "Here's the deed," he said showing the deed to Cesar.

"Cool, holmes," Cesar said. He looked around again. "Hey, where's your homie at - Ryder? I thought that little midget was with you."

"Oh, he and LB just gotta take care of some shit," CJ told him shoving the deed back inside his pocket. "It's got something to do with Smoke's yay."

"Ah, I see," Cesar replied. "Is he gonna be here, holmes?"

"Yeah," CJ answered. "He might be here a little later though. Let's go take a look at that garage."

Truth pulled open the garage door as CJ, Kendl, and Cesar gaped at him with wide eyes.

"You pretty strong for an old guy," CJ said sounding rather impressed. He and the others took a quick glance around the garage.


	12. Chapter 12: Wear Flowers in Your Hair

CJ took an exhaustive look around the garage and was feeling upset. The stones of the walls were faded with some prominent holes around them. The front windows were broken on the outside. The paint job was evanescent and slowly dissipating. There were boxes, tires, and other generic material lying around. It also included a small office partition to the left. The whole garage was austere. It wasn't anything as CJ expected.

"Motherfucker!" CJ finally exploded. "That mute asshole! That fucking snake without a tongue... gave me this shithole instead of a real pink slip?! I must be the biggest fucking idiot in the whole fucking world!"

"Holmes - take it easy," Cesar told him trying to sound more conciliatory. "At least we're alive."

"Carl, friend, fellow traveler, relax, man" Truth told him as well. "You're really killing my fucking vibe here!"

"Well I'm sorry if I'm fucking up your vibe, old man," CJ apologized, then turned to Cesar, "but I can't wait to get my hands on that mute and your bitch ass cousin!"

"My cousin?!" Cesar cried out looking shocked. "You gonna diss my familia?!"

Cesar just walked away, still stunned at what CJ just said. CJ then started to show remorse to what he had just said. Sure he disliked Catalina with every fiber of his bone, and he really wanted to retaliate somehow. But the last thing he wanted to do was get on CJ's bad side. So CJ decided to apologize to his friend.

"My bad, man," CJ told Cesar. "I'm just pissed for all of us!"

He turned to Kendl, who was giving him the "I'm very upset with you" look, which forced himself to explain himself.

"I mean... look, we in a strange place, we got shit to our name... and for once I try to make something work, this garage... and it ain't even a garage!"

"Then make it into a garage!" Kendl finally answered.

CJ then stared at Kendl sideways for a second. Then he got into her face.

"Oohhhhhh... That's a great idea, sis," CJ stated mockingly. "Why don't you shut up?!"

He stormed away in a fit of pique.

"You know what, Carl?" Kendl told him following him. "You are a fucking idiot! You whole life, you wanted something for nothing. Now you got something, and you don't know what to do with it! Well, make it good enough! We'll help, right?"

"We got your back, CJ," Cesar answered calmly.

"C'mon, stop tripping, man," Kendl answered. "Both of you."

"Wooooooaahhh, man!" Truth said chuckling all of a sudden. "The energy here - it's fantastic!" Then he started humming strangely. CJ just stared back at the eccentric old man wearing a perplexing look on his face.

"Yyyyeah, alright," CJ said. "But how am I gonna to find some good mechanics to work up in here, man?"

"I know a few guys," Truth answered hopping onto his feet. "Come with me, friend. They're good people, I swear it."

"Aww, man," CJ groaned as he walked alongside Truth. "I'm about to ride with this fool again?"

"C'mon, man," Truth declared as he and CJ hopped inside a red Emperor. "There's these two guys I know, used to work on Marine Engines, 'til the mob bought their business over at vice. Now they try to make end's meet by taking any old job. They're a little bit dull by their habit, but the smoke don't get in the way of their skills with an engine. We'll pick up Jethro first. Last I'd heard, he was working at the garage over at East Basin."

CJ drove on the road and made a left turn.

"Hey, man, how'd you meet these dudes anyway?" CJ asked Truth.

"I met them at the '89 Fierro Love-In... apparently," Truth responded.

"Apparently?" CJ asked.

"You know how it is, man," Truth replied equivocally as CJ made a right turn and drove through a curved tunnel. "A field of tents, crazy-assed music, a quart of mescaline vodka, polar bears..."

"Polar bears?" CJ asked.

"Yeah, go figure," Truth said. "But they were funny guys, man - great sense of humor."

CJ just shook his head. The people he met were getting weirder by the minute.

"This here's Vietnamese gang territory," Truth announced as CJ drove through downtown. "Da Nang Boys, Shining Razors, Butterfly Children. Watch yourself, dude. These cats are real serious!"

CJ finally made it to a gas station called Xoomer, where he found a mechanic wearing a blue janitor suit working under a white truck.

"Hey, Jethro!" Truth called to the mechanic. "Hop in, man. I've landed you a real job."

Jethro peered from under the car and hopped on his feet. He was a Caucasian man wearing a red-white-and-blue bandana on his head.

Hey there Truth dude!" Jethro greeted as he hopped in the back seat of the Emperor. "Oh man, do I owe you? Coz I swear I paid for that weed, dude!"

"No, man, we're good, I think," Truth declared. "Jethro, Carl. Carl, Jethro."

"Whassup, man?" CJ greeted the mechanic.

"Can we swing by the hospital?" Truth asked CJ. "It's over in Santa Flora district, west of here."

"Yeah," CJ said. "You sick?"

"No," Truth answered. "The government is, but that's a long story."

"So y'know, like what's the deal, dudes?" Jethro asked as CJ got back onto the road.

"I'm opening a garage in Doherty by the waste ground," CJ answered. "You know, car mods, lowriders, all that shit. You down?"

"Do polar bears shit in the woods?" Jethro asked.

 _Damn!_ CJ thought. _He took my like without knowing it._

"No," Truth answered, "but they've been known to shit in the liquor tent, if I remember it right."

"Yeah, that was, like, so far gone, man," Jethro answered.

CJ drove around town through the shining, bright lights, the roads were slightly empty. It felt good cruising through the streets of San Fierro. It was a fresh breath of air for CJ to drive in a town that wasn't surrounded by land or drugs.

By the time he made it through Santa Flora, he spotted the hospital up ahead. He parked in an empty spot up front.

"What we here for anyway?" CJ asked.

"Nothin'," Truth replied. He then spotted a van closing in. "Ooh, don't look," he protested. "Cover your faces. Think about a yellow rubber duck."

"You tripping again," CJ told him.

"Sshhh!" Truth shushed as the van drove past the Emperor and continued going.

"OK, I've seen enough," Truth declared. "Let's go see if we can find Dwaine."

"He's working a hotdog van at the tram terminal in King's," Jethro added.

CJ just shook his head and began to pull out from the parking lot right on the road.

"Come on, dude," CJ complained. "What's that all about?"

"You don't want to know," Truth answered.

Why?" CJ asked.

"Do you know what a sub-dermal neurophone is?" Truth asked him.

"A what?" CJ asked sounding confused.

"Exactly!" Truth blurted out. "Sometimes, it's best to stay in the dark, kid!"

CJ just continued driving without a word. He wasn't understanding exactly what Truth was talking about and what effect it had on him in general. He drove through King's, where he found the hot dog stand and a blond man wearing a blue mechanic suit smoking a blunt standing by it. It must have been Dwaine. CJ pulled up in front of Dwaine, who took a quick glance at Truth and Jethro from inside.

"Dude, Dwaine, man," Truth called out to him. "How's the hotdog business?"

"It's totally shit," Dwaine answered bluntly. "Why, what's happenin'?"

"Uh, my friend Carl here is opening a chop shop," Truth told him. "Jethro's in, how about you?"

"Ah yeah, cool man," Dwaine replied sounding blatantly stoned. "Uh I've got like some shit to take care of first though. So uh, you tell me where you guys are going to be at and I'll meet you dudes there."

"The garage is on the waste grounds in Doherty," CJ responded. "I'll see y'all later."

As Dwaine left, CJ continued driving on the road.

"OK, next stop the cop station downtown," Truth announced.

"What?" CJ asked sounding shocked. "You out your mind! Why?!"

"If I told you, the likelihood is you'd get a probe up your ass within a month," Truth sighed nonchalantly.

"Like, listen to the man, dude," Jethro added. "He's real serious about that shit."

 _Oh he's serious alright!_ CJ thought.

"Wuh...? CJ began to ask. But he thought better of it. He was tired of being inquisitive, and he knew he wasn't going to get a straightforward answer from a stoned, old man anyway. "OK," CJ agreed, "but you're starting to freak me out with all that space shit, man."

So CJ just drove around town for a few minutes and drove around a few blocks. He finally made it to the cop station and parked up front.

"OK, you know the drill," Truth whispered. "Don't look interested in anything."

When CJ stared ahead, he noticed the same van that came out of the hospital. It pulled around the corner and turned to CJ's direction, still not paying any mind to him or the other two in the car.

"Picture a pink golf ball in your mind," Truth said calmly as the van went down the street. "OK, we're good to go."

"Where to next, Spacehead?" CJ asked not

"There's an electronics guy I've had dealings with, goes by the name of Zero," Truth answered. "He could fix a supercomputer with a paperclip. He's got his own shop, but he's always ready to help fellow travelers along the path. Let's go introduce you to him."

"Look, what's goin' on, Truth?" CJ asked as he began to drive around the city once again. "Who was them dudes?"

"Don't go there, man," Jethro warned.

"Listen to Jethro," Truth replied. "Now, what if I told you we never went to the moon, JFK lives in Scotland with Janis Joplin, and the only reason we've been in a cold war for the last forty-five years was because snake-headed aliens run the oil business?"

"I think you popped another microdot," CJ replied not comprehending anything The Truth told him.

"Good," Truth responded nonchalantly. "Keep it that way."

CJ really didn't have any time to answer more questions. Aside from the fact that most of it was being answered in a rather equivocal manner, his head was just spinning in confusion at the moment. So he decided not to ask another question and continued driving. He drove through Garcia street and found a shop called Zero RC. He pulled up front to it and saw a young man wearing a red baseball cap, a green shirt, baggy black shorts, black and white sneakers, and black square-framed glasses

"Leave me alone Berkley!" he complained as an RC helicopter hovered above him. "This is stalking!" He then took a look inside the car to notice The Truth inside. "Oh, hey, Truth," He greeted.

"Get in," Truth ordered. "I'll fill you in as we drive. Home, James!"

Zero hopped inside the vehicle alongside Jethro. and CJ continued to drive around the city.

"Carl, Zero," Truth said to one and the other. "Zero, Carl."

"'Sup?" CJ greeted.

"Carl here's opening a garage around the corner," Truth told Zero. "I told him you're the man to speak to when it comes to electronics."

"Actually, I'm the ONLY man to speak to," Zero corrected as CJ. "Grade A, tip-top genius, that's me. You should drop by the shop sometime, see some of my shit, bro."

"I'll do that," CJ answered as he pulled up in front of the Doherty garage. "OK, we here."

He drove the car inside the garage and the four hopped out. Another car pulled up in the station and stopped. CJ looked to se Dwaine hopping out of the car.

"Dwaine, great to see you, brother," Truth answered. "Come on in. We've got to get to work!"

CJ saw that Cesar and Kendl were in there as well and guided the others inside.

"A week of hard work and we'll transform this place," CJ declared. He turned to Cesar Hey, Cesar!" he called to his friend. "Come over here!"

"Whassup, B?" Cesar replied walking up to the crew.

"Cesar," CJ introduced his friend to the others, "this is Jethro, Dwaine and Zero."

"Hey man," Dwaine replied.

"Dude," Jethro added.

"Salutations, my sibling!" Zero greeted.

"Horale," Cesar responded sounding less enthusiastic. "Let's get to work."

As the others walked with Cesar, Kendl pranced towards CJ.

"Hey," she called to CJ, "hey Carl, look - I think I found a way for us to get paid."

"I ain't going to no college to study no accounting!" CJ answered.

"No, idiot, property!" Kendl replied.

"Decorating ain't exactly my thing, either," CJ told her.

"No, property development!" Kendl told him. "Look, you buy a dump like this, fix it up and sell it. Or better yet, you turn the property into a business. The snowball gets bigger..."

"I dunno, sis," CJ replied as Cesar walked up to the two, "this all sounds big time to me."

"Look, Carl," Kendl declared, "this place is gonna get on its feet, and when it does, we are gonna have money. If you want to make something of yourself, you gotta let your money work for you."

CJ then thought about it for a moment. He wanted to make some easy money, but he wasn't sure how to run a business since he had neither the experience nor brains for such a task.

"Look, I wouldn't even know where to start," CJ told his sister sounding skeptical.

"Look," Kendl told him impatiently, "you two concentrate on the garage, and let me work the property thing, OK?"

She walked away to get to work.

"Yeah, that's my baby girl right there, holmes!" Cesar told CJ grinning.

"Man, you chose her, I'm stuck with her!" CJ groaned.

Just then, he saw a familiar-looking green lowrider pulling up in the parking lot outside, with Redman's Blow Ya Mind playing on the radio. In the car was Ryder in the driver's side and LB in the passenger seat. CJ and Cesar walked up to the lowrider.

"Aww shit!" CJ cried out as he watched his friend put the vehicle on park. "You got it all hooked up, Shermhead!"

Ryder turned the car off and hopped out.

"Nice ride, holmes," Cesar said giving Ryder a high five. "Where'd you get it from?"

"Ask my homie LB over there," Ryder replied. "He always got it in fo' me."

"Hell yeah," LB chimed in as he hopped out of the vehicle himself. "I told you that last year, I been working with Ryder and Sweet to collect cars from the junkyard and getting them hooked up!"

"Jeah," Ryder added. "LB's always looking out for me." He turned to CJ. "Hey CJ, guess what?" he asked as he pulled out a wad of cash out of his pocket to show CJ. "I stole this from Smoke's goons! It's $1,800, homie!"

"$1,800?" CJ asked astonished. "Damn! That's a lot of money!"

"Damn straight!" LB chimed in. "If they only have this much money, just imagine how much those fools carrying when they leave here in San Fierro."

"Jeah," Ryder said. "So what's this place?"

"It's a garage," CJ said as he guided Cesar, Ryder, and LB inside.

"This is a garage?" Ryder asked.

"It looks like a shithole to me," LB answered.

"That's the thing, holmes," Cesar told him. "We're gonna turn it into a garage. With a little work and some mechanics, this place would look cool in no time."

"Mechanics, huh?" Ryder asked. "Well what the fuck we waiting on? Let's get to work and fix this place up!"

"Hell yeah, homie!" LB added. "We gonna run a business here now!"

CJ feel very satisfied now. Not only was he getting help from other mechanics and his sister, he was also getting help from his childhood friend, who was also chasing after the drug couriers carrying to yay around country, which means he didn't need to do too much work.

 _Man, Sweet would be so proud,_ CJ thought. _If we keep this up, we'd get him out of jail in no time and finally get out of this hood bullshit once and for all._

While there were still a lot that CJ had to take care of, he was at least satisfied of the help he was getting in order to move on up.


	13. Chapter 13: 555 We Tip

CJ woke up very early in the morning. He had rented an apartment around the corner of the garage. He slowly hopped out of his bed and stared out at the window. The city of San Fierro looked very nice from the top floor. He could get a great glimpse of the buildings in the early morning sky. The shadows of the building were blue with a touch of violet. The sun hasn't risen yet, but CJ could still get a beautiful view of the vivid sky with white, puffy clouds overhead.

CJ looked back at the radio clock on his nightstand. It was 6:03 AM. The room he was in was rather austere. It was nothing more than a bare, brown room with nothing around it except for a bed, nightstand, a radio clock, hooks on the wall,, a calendar, and blinds behind the window. CJ didn't care though. As long as he had a nice place to stay, he wasn't discouraged in the slightest.

He was, however, still reminded of his childhood friend, Big Smoke. Looking at the buildings from the top floor reminded him of his mission with Smoke to take on the Russian Mafia at the Commerce back in Los Santos just roughly a week ago. He pictured the partnership he had with Smoke during the chase. The part where he and Smoke took on the Russian Mafia. He also pictured himself shooting at the Mafia chasing him and Smoke while the latter drove a motorbike through the drainage area. It was all coming back to him.

He looked at the calendar. The date was September 6. He got dressed in a plain black T-shirt over baggy beige cargo pants. He heard his cell phone on the nightstand ring. CJ picked it up and answered it.

"Carl, how's San Fierro?" he heard someone say in a very bad Chicano accent. He didn't need to recognize the voice. He could already tell who it is through the poorly imitated accent. It was Tenpenny.

"It's fucked up," CJ responded bluntly. "I can honestly say I wish you was here."

"Great!" Tenpenny replied in his normal accent. "Now, you got the present for that friend of mine, right, you know the one trying to get me and old Officer Pulaski into trouble?"

"Yeah," CJ answered.

"Why don't you put that up in his car and give We Tip a call?" Tenpenny suggested.

This immediately shocked CJ. Was Tenpenny actually suggesting that CJ calls the police?!

"Hey, motherfucker!" CJ blurted out. "The code of the streets is that I don't snitch. I don't give a fuck if it kills you, me, my brother. Street cats don't call no cops."

"Carl, he's a D.A.," Tenpenny answered in a flat tone.

CJ took a sigh of relief. A D.A. was definitely someone he would frame.

"Oh yeah?" he said suddenly calmed down. "Well where I go' find him?"

"He's at the Vank Hoff Hotel in the Financial," Tenpenny announced.

"Oh for sure," CJ answered grinning.

* * *

He hung up the phone and stored it in his pocket. He felt his stomach groaning as he headed out the door. But he had to complete the job first, then he could eat. So CJ hopped inside his red Emperor parked outside and drove through the street. He drove straight down Calton Heights and made a right turn Downtown. When he finally made it to the hotel in Financial, he parked in front and watched as a few valets were at the hotel.

One of the valets hopped inside his red car and drove on the road. CJ surreptitiously followed the vehicle down the parking garage and waited until the valet parked his car. As he hopped out of his vehicle, CJ himself hopped out of his, welding a baseball bat, and ran up to the valet. He smacked him hard on the head with the bat and undressed the unconscious man.

* * *

CJ put on the valet's clothes and hopped inside the vehicle. He stole the vehicle and drove out of the parking garage. As he arrived at the hotel, he hopped out of the vehicle and met the other valets there.

"You must be the new boy," one of them told CJ. "Get in line!"

CJ stood in line and waited for the right vehicle. He then spotted the D.A. driving a blue Merit. The vehicle pulled up in front

"Hey that's the D.A.," one of the valets told CJ. "He's a good tipper."

The D.A. hopped out of his car and offered CJ the vehicle. CJ hopped inside and drove through the town. His idea was to plant the drugs inside the trunk of the Merit and frame the D.A. for drug trafficking. So he drove back to the Doherty garage and stuffed the drugs inside the trunk.

Later, he drove through the town and back to Financial. He drove inside the parking garage and parked the garage inside. He then hopped out of the vehicle and ran outside. As he stepped out far enough, he stopped by a light post, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed the number.

* * *

"Hello?" CJ called putting the phone to his ear. "This WE TIP? I seen something highly suspicious you should come check out..."

The San Fierro Police Department soon arrived minutes later and pulled up in front of the D.A., who had driven out of the parking garage.

"Police!" one of the policemen shouted as the two hopped out of the car and cornered the D.A.'s car at gunpoint. "Don't move! Get outta the car with your hand in the air!"

"Do you know who you're fucking with here?" the D.A. demanded sternly as he complied to the officers' demands. "I'll have your badge, you moron!"

 **"** Shut up!" the officer demanded pinning the D.A. to the hood of the car. He turned to his partner, who was searching inside the trunk of the D.A.'s car. "You found anything back there?" he asked his partner.

 **"** Found anything?" the officer's partner declared. "He's got half of Mexico in here! Must be two tons of Mary here!"

He pulled out the bag of drugs and flaunted them in the D.A.'s face.

 **"** What?" the D.A. asked in confusion. "But... but I've never seen... how could it be..?"

 **"** Hell of a defense you got there, buddy!" the police officer announced as he pulled the D.A.'s hands behind his back and put the handcuffs around his wrists. He slammed the D.A. in the backseat of the police car and the two officers hopped inside as well. They drove off as CJ watched in satisfaction while leaning against the light post. He then heard his stomach growling again.

 _Shit,_ he thought. _Looks like it's time to eat._

* * *

So he ran to his vehicle and hopped inside. He drove around the city and stared at the clock on the radio. It was 6:20 AM. There had to be a restaurant around San Fierro that was opened at this hour. So CJ drove around the city and finally found a Burger Shot around the corner in Financial.

He parked the car at the front and walked inside.

"Welcome to Burger Shot, sir," the woman behind the counter said to CJ as he approached her. "How may I take your order?"

CJ looked at the menu, which showed breakfast food. He decided that he needed the protein to start his early morning off with.

"Yeah, I'll take a Breakfast Shot Sandwich along with a medium orange juice to go," CJ answered.

"So you said one Breakfast Shot Sandwich and a medium orange juice to go?" the woman asked punching in the numbers of the cash register.

"Yeah," CJ replied.

"Alright," the woman replied. "So your total's going to be $4.67."

CJ pulled out his wallet and pulled out a five dollar bill. He handed it to the woman, and she gave him his change and a receipt.

"Okay, so your number is 57," she told him.

CJ walked over to a nearby table and slumped on the chair. He stared outside from the glass window. It was still daytime outside, and the sun still wasn't up yet. CJ pictured Sweet sitting in a jail cell thinking how he was going to get out of prison unscathed. He also pictured Big Smoke sitting back at his house munching on a big meal while counting his cash. It was all coming back in the back of his mind once again. C.R.A.S.H. was blackmailing him even outside of his hometown. It was as if he was put on clandestine probation.

CJ had just shaken everything out of his mind after ten minutes of thinking when his order was called. He walked up to the counter to pick up his food and drink. He checked inside the bag.

"Hey, can I get some napkins," CJ asked the woman.

"Sure, sir," the woman said with a smile and stuffed the napkins in the bag. "Have a lovely morning."

CJ grabbed the bag and cup of orange juice off the counter and headed out the door

When he returned to his car, he hopped inside, set his drink on the cup-holder up front, and began munching on his sandwich. He munched on it for fifteen minutes and started to have more flashbacks. Eating the breakfast sandwich reminded him of Big Smoke's incredibly large order at Cluckin' Bell just roughly two weeks ago. It just seemed no matter what he did, CJ kept getting the memories of Big Smoke coming back to him. He felt so sick about his closest friend betraying him that he almost puked his food. CJ struggled to efface the memories out of his head and ate the last bite of the breakfast sandwich. Then he took a few sips of his orange juice through the straw.

He had just drank a quarter of the juice when he heard his cell phone ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it.

"Yeah, what?" CJ answered.

"Sorry, Carl," he heard Zero say over the phone sounding somewhat nervous. "Are you busy?"

CJ took a sigh of relief. He had finally had someone to talk to to help him clear his mind.

"Zero?" CJ asked in excitement. "No, man. Good to hear from you. Wassup?"

"Disaster!" Zero replied. "My landlord is selling the shop! I'll have nowhere to live and no safe haven from Berkley..."

 _Ah yeah,_ CJ thought. _The first place where I can invest a little cash in. I'm looking forward to this!_

"Ahhh, I'm looking to invest in some property at the moment," CJ stated grinning. "Maybe I'll swing by."

CJ hung up his phone and grinned.

 _Truth must've given that bastard my number,_ CJ thought. _That helpful bastard._

CJ was just satisfied that he was getting the help he needed, and now he was about to buy his first property to develop his business. Without another word, CJ set aside his drink, started the car, pulled out from the parking lot, and drove off through the city. While he might have lost his closest friend, he still had his other childhood friend and a few other allies who were helping him out, and he felt especially grateful and satisfied of that.


	14. Chapter 14: Air Raid

CJ drove through Garcia to find the Zero RC shop to his left. He parked his vehicle on the side of the road, grabbed his cup of orange juice, and hopped out. With enough money to pay for the property, he stepped into the shop and looked around.

"Yo Zero!" CJ called. "Zero! You in here?"

No reply.

CJ looked around the shop while sipping his orange juice.

"Zero!" he called. "Where you at?!"

Silence.

CJ checked in the backroom to search for the nerd. No sign of him.

 _Damn!_ he thought. _W_ _here he at?_

CJ left the backroom and headed to the front door. But he stopped when he saw the deed on the counter.

 _This must be the deed Zero wanted me to sign,_ he thought.

So CJ picked up the pen next to the deed and signed it. He also pulled the money out of his pocket and left $30,000 on the counter. He figured he'd come back later. He did, however, wanted to find somewhere in which he could kill some time before returning. So he hopped inside his car and drove through the city once again. He searched for a place around town to spend some time in. As he drove through Garcia, he spotted a gym up ahead. CJ parked in front of the building and studied his slim physique.

"Maybe I could start my day with an hour and a half workout," he said to himself.

He hopped out of his car and walked inside the gym. Inside, it was replete with a dumbbell set, a treadmill, red and green flags hung on the walls, and a blue and red mat on the center of the gym, in which several citizens were practicing some martial arts moves.

"Ah, yeah," CJ exclaimed. "Time to get to work!"

CJ started on the treadmill. He wanted to start on the cardiovascular workout first so he would become more flexible when lifting weights. After twenty minutes, he went to the dumbbells. He did many bicep curls, tricep exercises, and shoulder presses. He also got to work on the bench pressing.

After working out for one hour, CJ decided to take a ten minute break and decided to train with the other fighters.

"So, you wish to become a warrior," one of the fighters told me in a Chinese accent. He was obviously the instructor.

"For sho', bruh," CJ answered.

"Okay," the instructor demanded. "Sho me what you got!"

CJ just stood there, confused as to what to do. He had no experience in martial arts, and he only made a casual martial arts pose. the instructor then came at CJ and performed his moves on him. CJ didn't get time to recover. Every time, he was kicked and karate chopped down to the ground. He felt embarrassed at this point.

 _Beaten by an old ass man,_ CJ thought. _I'd rather have Catalina point the gat to my head._

"One rule of training, young one," the instructor told him. "Always have resilience."

So CJ got up and shook it off.

"Absorb with the eyes, young student, and you will learn!" the instructor told CJ.

He first showed CJ how to attack someone while running to them.

"Strike like an atomic cobra!" the instructor shouted.

The second thing he showed CJ was how to attack someone when down on the ground.

"Nothing clever here," he declared. "Just kick them while their down."

So CJ and the instructor spent about an hour of sparring. CJ, at, first, wasn't getting very good, but he soon started getting the hang of it after a while. Soon, he slowly developed his skills and became exhausted.

"Thanks for the lessons, man" CJ told the instructor breathlessly. "I'll come back some other time."

"Very well, young one," the instructor said. "By the way, I haven't caught your name."

"Carl Johnson," CJ told him. "But you can just call me CJ!"

"I'll see you another day, Carl Johnson," the instructor said, and CJ headed out of the door.

CJ felt sore from the workout and sparring. But he knew it was all worth it. After all, he needed the extra stamina to work on his missions. When he hopped inside his parked car, he heard his cell phone ring. He pulled it out of his pocket to answer it.

"Hello?" CJ answered.

"Carl, it's Zero," he heard the nerd's voice answer over the phone.

"Oh, hi, Zee," CJ replied. "You weren't around when I sighed the deed."

"Yes, I know," Zero answered. "I was on a dangerous reconnaissance mission - deep into enemy territory!"

"Uh... yeah, right, sure," CJ replied dryly. "Whatever you say. I should come and have a look at the business, y'know."

"Oh, of course, of course," Zero said. "I'll have to tidy up a bit. This place is such a mess!"

"Don't worry about it," CJ told him. "I'll drop in soon."

So CJ drove straight down Garcia street and parked his car in front of the shop. He hopped out and walked inside the shop to see Zero behind the counter.

"Hey, whattup, Zee?" CJ greeted.

"Nothing is up, Carl," Zero answered staggering gloomily towards the counter. apart from my blood pressure, and the imminent collapse of my hopes and dreams.

 **"** Why?" CJ asked.

"As usual," Zero started, "the forces of darkness have triumphed over good. Life is nothing but misery, briefly interspersed with agony."

"Homie, what you on?" CJ asked. "Whatever it is, you need to reduce the dosage."

"Excuse me, but I never take drugs," Zero protested. " We all know drugs are for losers, and/or sex maniacs. And right now, sex is the last thing on my mind."

"Thank God for that!" CJ answered.

"Berkley is back!" Zero answered astonishly.

"Ooohhh. Berkley," CJ answered in a mockingly surprised tone.

"Yes," Zero answered.

CJ stared back at Zero sideways for a few seconds.

"Who the fuck is Berkley?" he finally blurted out.

"Just a man I once beat in fair competition," Zero answered. "A man literally obsessed with revenge."

"Oh, you put hands on him?" CJ asked.

"No, please," Zero protested. "I never initiate violence."

"Oh, I know - you knocked his bitch!" CJ answered.

No," Zero replied dryly. "I won the prize in the science fair. First prize, that is."

 _Duh!_ CJ thought. _He just told me! Why the fuck did I even answer that question to begin with?! I'm such a fucking idiot!_

"And now he wanna pop you?" CJ asked.

Zero just nodded. CJ turned back and tossed his head back laughing.

"And they say gang bangers is petty and small minded!" CJ exclaimed. Just then, something started bleeping.

"Hey, what's that bleeping sound?" CJ asked.

"That's him!" Zero answered. "We shall fight to the end! Come with me!"

Zero lead CJ to the backroom and up the stairs. The two made it onto the roof of the shop, which had three transmitters.

"Berkley's launched a full-scale attack!" Zero announced.

"This is insanity!" CJ replied.

"All batteries commence fire!" Zero declared as CJ stepped in front of a mini-gun. "He's going for my transmitters! If he takes them out, I'll never be able to launch a counter attack!"

"No problem man, but they only toys," CJ told him.

"They're not toys!" Zero complained. "They're just smaller! CJ, bogies at 12 o'clock!"

CJ didn't answer. He just aimed for the sky, waiting for some of Berkley's RC Barons to fly by. It took a few minutes, but soon, CJ saw one of the RC Barons flying overhead. He aimed at it and pulled the trigger. The bullets rapidly fired out of the weapon and hit the RC Baron as it crashed to the ground below. He successfully shot down the second RC Baron that flew by. After shooting down three more, CJ was feeling the vibe.

"Yeah!" he shouted. "Berkley's toys ain't no match for this Grove Street OG!"

"Great, kid," Zero warned. "Don't get cocky!"

"Cocky?!" CJ asked. "I don't know the meaning of the word 'cocky'!"

"Look out, Carl!" Zero shouted as more RC Barons flew by.

CJ just shot them all down as they arrived. Then plummeted down with a loud crash down below.

"RC Barons at 9 o'clock, Carl!" Zero called.

CJ just shot them down one by one. He was already pumped.

"Kamikazes at 6 o'clock!" Zero panicked.

CJ didn't have time to tell Zero to chill out. He just shot down as many of the flying toys as he could. It took about two minutes to take them all out, but CJ brought them all down. When he brought down the last on of the bunch, he aimed at the sky for any more RC Barons to disperse through the sky. It was clear. None of them returned.

"I think that's all of them, Zee?" CJ announced.

"Ha ha ha ha Berkley!" Zero cheered. "As long as we have opposable thumbs, WE WILL FIGHT YOU!" He turned to CJ.

"Well done, Carl," Zero told CJ.

"Hey, man, it was the least I could do," CJ replied with a big grin around his face.

"Now leave," Zero told him. "I must prepare for the battles ahead! Never have so few owed so many... too little, three... no that's not it, what is it? We will fight him on the beaches, well, rooftops..."

"Well, I'll be around if that Berkley dude causes you any more problems," CJ said, and walked inside the stairway on the roof.

He walked down the stairs, through the shop, and out of the door. He didn't know how to feel about nerds being just as vindictive as gangsters. But at least he was still getting help from Zero to protect his shop. CJ just hopped inside his car and drove away. It was only 9:30 AM and already, he had no idea what he wanted to do. So he drove back to his apartment, hopped out of the car, and went inside the apartment building


End file.
